The One True King
by Omegas Prime
Summary: Ajay returns to Kyrat to fulfill his mother's dying wish. With the help of a demon he manages just that. But what now? Ajay isn't sure what his place in the world is. What path will Ajay follow? Ishwari was right Kyrat was always going to change her son. It was going to change him into a King.
1. Ashes to Ashes

Ch. 1

 **Ashes to Ashes**

 _Better the devil you know then the devil you don't._

Ajay wasn't really sure what to do right now. He entered Tibet and came to the homeland of his late mother to spread her ashes somewhere called Lakshmana. He had his passport, a guide and everything, and despite warnings of terrorist attacks in the country, nothing bad had happened. That is until his bus was stopped by some outpost guards.

He could feel the tension rise as the guards continued to hold them in their position, but while they were checking the bus, they apparently found weapons underneath the vehicle and that is where everything went to hell. Some terrorists jumped out of the back of the bus forcing the guards to shoot at them and at the bus.

Ajay and his guide, Darpan, jumped out of the bus before they were riddled with bullets. When they got out the soldiers pointed their weapons at them and he and Darpan got on the ground in surrender.

That was when things started to get even more intense. A helicopter landed and out came a strange Asian man with weird blonde hair. He looked upset as he approached the commander of the soldiers. After a small "discussion" about what the soldier did wrong, the Asian man stabbed him repeatedly in the face with a pen. And then went on to complain about the blood on his shoes.

Ajay had never been more terrified in his whole life. Even when he committed armed robbery in the states he wasn't that terrified. Oddly enough the strange man seemed to calm down and seemed happy when he laid eyes on Ajay. He was so happy in fact, the Asian man took a selfie with Ajay.

The strange man then had his men put a burlap sack over his head after lighting the bus on fire and he went for a ride in the man's helicopter.

And now he was in this strange scene. He and his guide, sitting at a fancy dinner table, with fancy food, and creepily, a plate of monkey heads for a center piece. The Asian man was sitting across from him now dressed in a flashy pink suit, which made him look even more ridiculous, but Ajay kept that to himself.

"So, introductions. Ajay Ghale, our guest of honor; Paul, our very gracious host. The little monkey whose name I still don't know. And I, over course, am Pagan Min." Pagan Min looked at Ajay expectantly, like he was supposed to recognize him or something. "You really don't remember me? Your mother never spoke of me, never mentioned me? Oh we'll change all that. Paul, I need cash."

"How much do you need?"

"All of it." He literally took every rupee out of the man's wallet and began showing Ajay his face on every bill. Ajay just continued to stare and listen. He already knew this man was important, but what he didn't understand was why he was being so familiar with him. He knew his mother? Ishwari never talked much about Kyrat or the people there. He would definitely remember her talking about a pink suited, blonde, Asian psychopath. That's just something you don't forget in a conversation, just because it was way absurd.

Pagan Min then grabbed his mother's urn. Ajay was about to get up and protest, but a look from Paul told him otherwise.

"Now your mother, your mother on the other hand, she understood me. She knew me in a way that nobody else ever did." He dipped his pinky into the ashes and tasted them. That was even more disturbing than watching Pagan stab that soldier in the face. "Mm, that takes me back. The last time I saw Ishwari was years ago. She told me she loved me. Women, they can do that. They can tell you they love you in the moment and mean it, men on the other hand. No, men only really love you in hindsight. When too much distance has built up. So when your mother decided to flee to the United States with you on her hip, I couldn't help but blame myself. Then I realized, it wasn't me, no. It was the fucking Golden Path!" And then he shoved Darpan into the table and stabbed him in the shoulder with a fork. "Those fucking terrorists they ruin everything. Like dinner. Didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to text at the table?" He took Darpan's phone and examined it. Pagan chuckled. "Ah. "I'm with Ajay Ghale." You'll love this part. "Help." A text for help? You don't text for help, you cry for help. So come on, you're going to cry for help. You're going to do something, you're going to do it right."

He dragged Darpan to the balcony, with the fork still imbedded in his shoulder and told Darpan to call for help. At first Darpan pitifully cried for help, then Pagan forced him to yell louder. It wasn't loud enough and Pagan ordered him to yell louder. Still not loud enough, Pagan twisted the fork and Darpan finally yelled loud enough that his voice echoed over the mountains. Pagan yelled alongside him and he was much louder than Darpan. And then the psychotic man gently shushed him.

"Listen. Do you hear that? Nothing . . . I'm afraid they're not coming for you buddy." Pagan then removed the fork and ordered Paul and his men to interrogate Darpan. "Terrorists, right? Now please stay right here. Enjoy the Crab Rangoon. Don't move, I'll be right back. Yuma we need to talk." Pagan talked into his phone as he went into the back room.

When the pink suited psychopath was out of the room and out of ear shot, Ajay slumped in his seat and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"Holy fuck . . ." he exclaimed.

Ajay could not believe this was happening to him. He was now starting to wonder if the reason he hardly has any memories of Kyrat is because of some violent trauma he experienced here. It would not surprise him, considering the man that was running this country. And no wonder his mother never said anything about this place. He just got here and already people had shot at him!

Ajay leaned over the table and picked up his mother's ashes and picked up the money that Pagan nonchalantly dropped on the table.

"Okay, I need to get out of here." Ajay went over to the balcony. "Can I jump? No, the fall will probably kill me and if it doesn't I'll definitely break something and not get far." He turned around and went over to the door that Pagan went into. Ajay didn't bother to open it, but he could hear Pagan talking to someone named Yuma, though the conversation was a bit muffled by the thick door. He tried the other doors in the room, but they were all locked. Ajay then went down the stairs they came from and heard screams of agony coming from behind the door. He knew that it was Darpan screaming. He tried to open the door, but it was also locked.

"Damn it!" Ajay went back the way he came and walked back to the table. He gave the room one last look-around before sighing in defeat. There was no way he could escape. And if there was, he didn't see it. Eh, just as well, considering how brutally Pagan Min killed one of his soldiers for "fucking up" his job, perhaps leaving and defying the King of Kyrat wasn't such a good idea.

Ajay took his seat again, ignoring the monkey heads center piece. He eyed the Crab Rangoon and decided to take Min's offer. He took a bite and hummed in satisfaction.

"Not bad."

Half an Hour Later

"Oh fan-bloody-tastic! You sir, are a gentleman. I sincerely apologize. We saw terrorists in the area and yada yada. The Crab Rangoon right? It's . . ." Pagan was interrupted by Darpan's tortured screams and looked down in annoyance before continuing. "fabulous. Mm! Well, come on, let's go."

Ajay got up from the table and followed Pagan. After a while, Ajay gathered up the courage to ask Pagan a question.

"Where are we going?"

"Why to Lakshmana, of course!" Pagan smiled riley.

Ajay had a look of surprise on his face. He didn't expect Pagan to just suddenly take him to where he needed to go. He looked at his mother's ashes. Did this guy really have a relationship with his mother. Ishwari was a kind, compassionate, and strict mother. He had a hard time imagining his mother being with someone like this man.

The two walked outside and entered a helicopter.

"Kamran! Take us to, you-know-where." Pagan ordered the pilot. The pilot dutifully saluted and the helicopter took off. For a few minutes Ajay and Min just sat in awkward silence. At least it was awkward to Ajay, he glanced at Min a few times and saw a . . . content smile on his face. Ajay would have tried to have a conversation with him, but the helicopter was so loud he doubted he would have been heard. Oh well, he wasn't much of a talker anyway. His mother always said he was the strong silent type.

Several minutes had passed and the helicopter landed on a hill with a small building on it. Was this a shrine?

"Three point landing." Pagan joked. "You know . . . a part of me is surprised that your mother asked you to bring her all the way back here." Kamran, the pilot, opened the helicopter doors for them. "Thank you, Kamran."

Ajay was a bit hesitant to get out and nervously asked Pagan. "Y-you want me to follow you?"

"Jesus Christ. Yes boy, the ashes aren't going to scatter themselves." Pagan said exasperated.

Ajay got out of the helicopter and followed Pagan to the small building.

"Did your mother ever tell you about your father?"

Ajay stopped and tried to think of a time, but he never recalled a time his mother even mentioning his father. In fact, the times he asked her she had this pained expression on her face and he would drop it.

"No never."

"Mohan . . . the great protector of the Golden Path. Hmph, he was a cunt. He whored your mother out. Sent her to spy on me. But, we fell in love, had a child and that is when Mohan showed his true colors. Hmph. He drove you and your mother away, even killed your sister, Lakshmana." That's when Ajay got a look inside the building and realized it was a shrine. "Which brings us here. Lakshmana shouldn't be alone anymore. I'm so glad we're finally back together" Ajay could see the genuine emotions on Pagan's face. "After you." He motioned for him to enter.

Ajay slowly walked in and Pagan closed the door behind him. Inside were candles and incense and the traditional Kyrati funeral rights; bells and charms. There were even some children's toys around on the floor. Ajay made his way up to the pedestal that held a single urn not unlike his mother's except it had the image of a peacock on it. Above the pedestal was a painted portrait of a little baby girl, no older than a year. This was Lakshaman, his unknown baby half-sister.

With a carefulness Ajay didn't even know he had, he placed his mother's ashes right next to Lakshmana. A wave of emotions washed over him as he recalled the last words his mother said.

'I love you and will always be with you.'

Ajay gave a short prayer to his mother and to his newfound sister before finally saying goodbye.

"Goodbye Mom. Goodbye . . . Lakshmana."

Ajay walked outside and let out a heavy breath, like he just took off a great weight on his shoulders. Ajay saw Pagan Min leaning against his helicopter with an amused and nostalgic smile on his face.

"Oh good. Feel better now? Get it out of your system?"

"Yeah." Ajay answered.

"Good. And now maybe we can finally shoot some goddamned guns."

When Pagan said that, Ajay heard the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash play once again on the helicopter's radio.


	2. Tear Shit Up

Ch. 2

 **Tear Shit Up**

 _The secret of change is not fighting the old, but building the new. –Socrates_

Ajay was in deep thought as he was staring out the window. He was taking in the beautiful and breathtaking scenery that Kyrat had to offer. He had to admit, the place was beautiful. He almost wondered why his mother would ever leave to go to a polluted and crowded country like the United States. Ajay looked over to Pagan.

"This is a beautiful country, sir."

"Why thank you Ajay and call me Pagan, please. We're family after all."

Ajay was a bit hesitant about that. This man was obviously dangerous and insane, but he was also someone his mother fell in love and had a child with. So he couldn't be that bad. He had to admit, Pagan hadn't said or done anything to harm him yet. He was willing to give . . . his step-father, maybe . . . a chance.

"Though don't let the beauty fool you Ajay. This country is a tiger, majestic and dangerous. If you're not careful this country will tear you apart like it did me." Pagan said solemnly.

Ajay didn't know what to say to that and just looked out the window again. He saw a large field with rows of a very familiar plant.

"Are those . . .?" Ajay wasn't sure how to ask this.

Pagan chuckled at Ajay's hesitance. "Poppy flowers, yes. Dope, O.P., Hop, the Big O, or Opium, if you want to keep it simple. We need to bring this country out of the dark ages Ajay and we can't do that by hunting animals and sacrificing them to some superstitious god. Did you know that the locals here worship something called a Tarun Matara? They're apparently little girls that are raised up to be living goddesses. To me, personally, that sounds like some kind of scam for old men to just fuck little girls. Disgusting!"

Ajay didn't know much about the culture of the land, but he'd imagine it would not be easy for some little girl to be named a goddess and be pressured by such a title.

Pagan than looked Ajay right in the eyes. "Now I won't sugarcoat it Ajay, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a good person. In fact, I'm pretty much your typical villain." He deadpanned. "But I really am trying to help Kyrat and really, the Golden Path is no better than I am."

"The Golden Path? What's that?"

"That terrorist group that you've been hearing about. They're led by two people, Amita and Sabal. A bitch and a cunt they are. The Golden Path takes children from the villages and turns them into child soldiers and Sabal is so stuck in ancient traditions that he's practically a zealot. Now, I've done some bad things, but I'd never stoop so low as to force children to fight in wars or kill people just because they didn't believe what I believe. Though I have killed people that have disagreed with me. Anyway, what I'm saying is this, as bad as I am Ajay, I would never want any harm to come to you, but the Golden Path would use you and throw you away when you run out of use."

Ajay merely blinked at that. He knew next to nothing about this country or the people that are in it. He knew nothing about this Golden Path party and only just met Pagan Min. But . . . Pagan has been nothing but honest and polite with him so far, give or take a few violent outbursts. Not to mention, the flamboyant tyrant helped fulfill his mother's dying wish. So for now, Ajay trusted Pagan and what he said about the Golden Path.

Suddenly Ajay saw something out of the corner of his eye and panicked once he realized it was a rocket.

"Get down!" He grabbed Pagan and pulled him down. The helicopter was hit and the vehicle started to spin out of control. The helicopter spun around five times before it crashed into some rocks and plummeted a small distance. Miraculously, Ajay and Pagan were alive.

Ajay gripped his head in pain as he was still dazed. When his vision settled, he looked at his gloved hands and saw blood. His head was bleeding, but he'd live. Ajay checked on Pagan and saw the pink-suited man was out. The pilot, however, was dead. Apparently the helicopter landed head first and Kamran was crushed when they landed. Ajay unbuckled his seat and tried to wake up Pagan.

"Pagan wake up." Ajay shook the man. "Pagan, come on. You need to wake up."

Pagan stirred and blinked several times before groaning in pain. Unlike Ajay, Pagan was only bruised.

"Fuck, what hit me?"

"A rocket launcher and I'm sure the guy that shot it isn't too far from us. We got to go." Ajay said urgently.

"Mm, yes." Pagan unbuckled from his seat, he stood up and saw the pilot and cursed. "Damn it, he was my favorite pilot too. And this was my favorite chopper! If I ever find the cunt that shot us down, I'll castrate him."

Ajay walked over to the pilot. The part of his body that wasn't crushed still had a walkie-talkie and a kukri. Ajay took both and Pagan took the guns that were stored in the helicopter. Unfortunately, the crash destroyed most of the guns and all that was left was an AK-47 and an M-712 handgun.

"I'll take the handgun, I have more experience with pistols than I do assault rifles." Ajay said.

"Very well." Pagan pulled out a map and Ajay handed him the walkie-talkie.

Suddenly a voice came out of the walkie-talkie. "King Min, come in. Are you alive! Your helicopter sent out a signal saying you were shot down please respond!"

"This is King Min, Ajay Ghale and I are still alive, but we need immediate assistance."

"What is your position my King?"

"Not sure yet, we have to move quickly. The Golden Path shot us down and are heading towards us as we speak. We will head to the nearest bell tower triangulate where our helicopter crashed and send forces to the nearest bell tower." Pagan ordered.

"Already done sir. There will be Royal soldiers when you get there. We'll send more as back up. Return safely my king." The walkie-talkie then went silent.

"Well Ajay my boy, are you ready for the up-close experience part of the tour?" Pagan joked.

"Is this the part where we tear shit up?"

"Ha! Yes it likely will be! Have you ever killed someone before Ajay?"

"No I haven't . . . At least not directly."

"I'm sorry to put you through this, Ajay, but the Golden Path will likely take you prisoner, in order to make you join them. But, they will try to kill you as they try to kill me. This is probably the closest they've ever gotten to killing me." Pagan said amused.

Ajay smiled. "You watch my back, I watch yours."

"Good boy!"

Ajay and Pagan took off towards the tower. Pagan kept complaining about nature and getting mud on his shoes. Ajay however, kept focus as they moved. Ajay quickly went on alert and pulled Pagan behind some trees. There were Golden Path rebels searching for them.

"Pagan's body wasn't at the crash. He's still alive. Search for him."

"What about Ajay Ghale? He's supposed to be with Pagan right?"

"Sabal said to bring him in alive, but Amita went over his head and said to kill him if he gets in the way."

"Figures. Those two can't piss without getting in each other's way."

"Sabal won't be happy if Ghale gets killed, but this is the closest we've ever gotten to Pagan, so I don't think we have to worry about Sabal skinning us."

"Isn't that a little harsh?"

"You're obviously new, give it time and you'll see what working for those two is like."

Ajay and Pagan listened to the rebels ramble and rolled their eyes. They snuck passed the rebels and came to a river. They saw a rebel just standing around and by his feet was a dead goat. Ajay silently got behind the rebel and slit hit throat with his kukri. Before they kept moving Ajay took the rebels bag which had goat meat and fur in it. He figured it would come in handy later.

The two arrived at a small cliff and below them were three Golden Path rebels that were blocking their way to the tower. The only way through to the tower was to take down the rebels.

Pagan lined up his AK-47. He had a shot, but Ajay stopped him.

"Hold on. I have an idea that won't draw attention to us." Ajay reached into the bag he took from the dead rebel and pulled out a slab of bloody goat meat.

"What are you going to do with that?" Pagan asked. He held his nose when the bloody smell entered his nostrils.

"Watch." Ajay smirked and tossed it over to the rebels. The Golden Path didn't hear the wet smack as the meat hit the ground and continued searching for their targets. For a moment nothing happened, until a bear rushed out of the bushes and mauled the rebels to death.

Pagan had a stunned look on his face as he watched the beast maul the terrorists to death. Couple of the rebels shot at the bear, but all that did was make the creature angrier. He looked at Ajay, with that surprise look still on his face.

"How did you know that would work?" Pagan said as he turned back to the bear with morbid fascination. The bear was now chewing on the face of a screaming rebel.

"When I was young, there was this dog that would sometimes chase me for several blocks. One day I had some beef jerky with me and when the dog chased me again, I threw the jerky and the dog went after it instead. I used that method to escape most animals for a few years and when bullies came along I'd use the same trick to make the dogs attack the bullies instead. One kid actually got rabies."

Pagan just stared at Ajay, until he burst out laughing. "Ajay, my boy you are genius! You must be a riot at parties."

The two left the bear to its new dinner and continued on their way to the tower.

They came to a small remote village that was literally in the middle of nowhere and was covered with Golden Path rebels. Ajay and Pagan managed to just sneak around the village and kept going. Several minutes of walking and they got to a tall cliff face. At the top was a female Royal Soldier.

"King Min! Up here!" She shouted. The soldier tossed down two ropes and the two pulled themselves up, where they were greeted by the female soldier. "King Min, I am relieved you are safe. And Ajay Ghale, it is an honor to meet you." She bowed respectfully to the both of them. "All of the soldiers are waiting for you at the tower. Your escape helicopters will be here soon to take you back to the palace."

"Thank you my dear. I wouldn't have gotten here if it weren't for Ajay. Come along Ajay, let's leave this place."

Pagan and Ajay walked up the hill to the tower. They were greeted by several soldiers on the way up and when they entered the tower, the commander approached them.

"My King Pagan, it is a relief to see you alive. You as well, Ajay Ghale. We sent for a rescue chopper it should be here soon." Outside they heard people shouting. "Damn, the Golden Path tracked us here. Everyone, be ready for a fight!"

Ajay and Pagan ran out with the soldiers and took cover. The Golden Path started to charge from all over.

"Here they come. Hold your ground! For King Min!"

The soldiers opened fire on the Golden Path and the rebels opened fire on the Royal soldiers. Ajay pulled out the weapons he got from the bell tower. He pulled out an AK-47 and open fired. He shot a few Golden Path rebels. Pagan also fired back with his assault rifle. Ajay got in a few headshots and then shot a rebel that was running at him with a blade. Ajay chucked a grenade and it exploded around a few rebels. He then popped a few more Golden Path that were trying to circle around their perimeter. Ajay quickly fell back into cover when he saw a big group of Golden Path suddenly open fire on him. A bullet grazed his jacket, but nothing bad.

Gunfire could be heard everywhere and it was echoing out into the valley. Pagan threw a knife at a nearby rebel and then shot two rebels with his assault rifle when they thought he was distracted. Pagan shot his assault rifle several times, killing more Golden Path, before ducking into cover.

Ajay looked over at Pagan. He saw the self-proclaimed king breathing heavily. His coat was torn up and he had blood on his face. Whether that was his own blood or the blood of his enemies, Ajay couldn't tell.

"You alright?" Ajay yelled over the gunfire.

Pagan looked over at Ajay and didn't say anything for the longest moment.

"Are you kidding me? I haven't felt so fucking alive in years!" Pagan smiled excitedly. He popped out of cover and shot many rebels with his AK-47. One rebel got in close, but Pagan stabbed him with a kukri. He took a grenade from the fallen rebel and chucked it behind some rocks the rebels were covering behind. Some rebels died from the blast and those that managed to escape in time Pagan shot with his assault rifle.

"King Min! Our reinforcements will be here soon!" One of the soldiers yelled out.

"Not soon enough, these terrorists keep coming. By the time they get here we'll be overrun!" Pagan shouted.

Ajay ran back inside the tower to grab some ammo, but then saw something awesome.

"A rocket launcher?!" How he didn't see that first, he didn't know. He grabbed the weapon, loaded it and took aim at a big group of rebels coming down the mountain. Ajay fired and the rocket blew all the rebels away.

"Nice one, Ajay!" Pagan shouted approvingly.

However, everyone in the area stopped shooting as they heard a familiar rumbling. Everyone looked up and saw an avalanche coming down.

"Shit , maybe that wasn't such a good idea."

"Avalanche!"

Everyone tried to take cover as the snow washed over them. Ajay ducked behind the stone fence, but the snow still covered him up. All Ajay saw for a while was white. He was completely buried. He tried to dig himself out and before he was completely out, Pagan had run up to him and pulled him out.

Pagan looked really relieved to see Ajay alive.

"You're a tough man to kill, Ajay"

"Is that a good thing?"

Pagan laughed and examined all the damage they caused. Most of the Royal Army survived as they had better cover than the Golden Path, so most of the rebels died from the avalanche.

"We really teared shit up." Ajay said.

Pagan just looked at Ajay for a moment, before he laughed out loud.

"Yes! Yes we did Ajay!"

Several helicopters arrived shortly after. Ajay and Pagan got on one of them and the soldiers boarded the rest, with a few staying behind to check the Golden Path corpses. The helicopter was taking Ajay and Pagan back to the royal palace.

"Well that was exciting." Ajay said

"Indeed it was. I must say it's been a long time since I've been out in the field. You! You most definitely impressed me Ajay, you handled yourself quite well." Pagan paused for a second before he spoke up again. "Ajay? What were you planning on doing after you scattered your mother's ashes and your business in Kyrat was finished?"

"I don't really know. I mean I planned on sight-seeing, since this would be the first time in my homeland since I was little, but I hadn't really thought about what I'd do after Kyrat." Ajay answered.

Pagan looked down in thought for a moment. "Ajay, I have a surprise for you, but I think I'll hold onto that surprise just a little bit longer. For now I want to ask you. Could I ask you to help me in taking down the Golden Path?"

Ajay was a bit surprised by that. "But, I'm not a soldier."

"You don't have to be. You handled yourself against the Golden Path quite well, if you ask me. With a bit more training and exercise, we can smooth out those rough edges and make you something truly deadly. And you wouldn't be a soldier, no no no no no, you will be more of an independent general. I won't force you to fight Ajay, but I feel that this matter with the Golden Path can be settled much faster with your help. Not to mention, you can still travel and sight-see your homeland. You'll just have to shoot, stab, and possibly blow up, a few people while you're out."

Ajay looked out the window for a few minutes and gave Pagan's offer a little thought. Pagan was likely the only family he had left, maybe not biologically, but his mother always said that blood was not everything. Pagan loved his mother and he helped fulfill her dying wish. Pagan may not be the kindest man in the world, but he was kind to Ajay and his mother. He stared at the land of his parents. He had no memory of this place and his mother had good reason to not want to remember it. But he felt a calling here. Like something deep inside his soul was telling him he was supposed to be here. To put an end to this civil war. Ajay turned to Pagan.

"Alright. I'll help."

Pagan had never smiled so big since Lakshmana.

"Awesome."


	3. Helping Out

**Authors Notes: Okay, first off I want to say it's probably a bit late talking about this now, but I'm new to posting stories and am still working out how everything works. So here goes.**

 **This is obviously a fic about Ajay joining Pagan and the Royal Army. I played Far Cry 4 and while it was good with many things to do and see it lacked a lot of things that made it less interesting. For starters the character development. In Far Cry 3, you slowly watched as Jason went from a normal young man to a killer weapon of a warrior. Ajay lacks this. When Jason first kills someone he's distressed and shies away from it a little, with Ajay he doesn't react to killing someone. In fact he's more aloof then Jason to the point that I think he doesn't even have a personality. The second issue I have with the game is that we are stuck with Amita and Sabal. Pagan may be a psycho, but Amita and Sabal are no better. Power hungry bastards that just want to use their country for their own gains. Sure Citra was using you in Far Cry 3, but at least it was better hidden and not so obvious. So really you have to pick between three people that are just plain horrible. I picked Amita for my endgame, but here's the reason why I will always choose Pagan hands down. Pagan actually CARES about you. Throughout the whole game, from beginning to end, Pagan was always honest and straight with you. He even openly states that Amita and Sabal are using you and even helps you kill Yuma and Paul, just because choosing Ajay was his desired choice. Pagan may send his army after you, but he doesn't even feel angry as you take Kyrat from him and always speaks to Ajay fondly, never vengeful or hateful. So to me, Pagan was always the way to go. Heck when I first started playing I did the secret ending first, just because that is what I believe to be the True Ending.**

 **You should watch Ryan Hollinger on YouTube about his analysis and theory of Far Cry 4, it is very interesting!**

 **Thanks for listening to me rant now on with the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Far Cry 4, if I did I would make many changes.**

Chapter 3

 **Helping Out**

 _Carry the battle to them. Don't let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don't ever apologize for anything. –Harry S. Truman_

The helicopter took Ajay and Pagan back to the Royal Palace. The helicopter landed and both Ajay and Pagan made their way inside. They kept getting bugged by soldiers telling them to see a medic for their injuries, but they ignored their pleas and headed towards a large room.

They entered the large room and Ajay marveled at what he saw. Inside the large room were map screens, computers, tables, and stations. At each station there was a technician with headsets and everyone was speaking a multitude of languages, including, Chinese, French, and even a bit Kyrati, but English was the bridge between all of these.

Leaning on a table examining maps was a petite Asian woman with dyed bright pink hair. And sitting relaxingly in a chair at the same table was Paul, the man that Ajay met earlier today.

When Pagan and Ajay walked through the doors, the two looked up and had a relieved look on their faces.

"Fāshēngle shénme? Nǐ hái hǎo ma?" Yuma asked in Cantonese.

"Yes, yes, we're fine, we just had a little run in with the Golden Path." Pagan waved off nonchalantly. Like getting shot at wasn't a big deal. Probably wasn't in this country.

"Damn it, those Golden Path savages have been doing too well this year. Now they're getting cocky enough to attack you, King Min." Paul said.

"What do you mean "they've been doing too well."?" Ajay asked a little confused.

"Ah yes, apologies, Ajay, I forgot to tell you. The Golden Path has been pushing back heavily in the last year. They've taken all of the outposts and key areas, but they've yet to take the fortresses. We've managed to protect most of our businesses, but we've spread our forces too thin because of it. We had them on the run for a few years, but their slowly winning this war, Ajay."

Yuma looked passed Pagan and gave Ajay a once over before smirking. "Shuí shì zhège shuàigē?"

"This, my dear, is Ajay Ghale." Pagan answered.

Yuma looked at Pagan like he had grown a second head and scowled at Ajay. Ajay didn't really know where that spite came from.

"Apologies, Ajay, I forgot to introduce you. This lovely lady is Yuma, my right hand woman and adopted sister. Say hello Yuma." Yuma just crossed her arms and kept her scowl. "Cheery girl isn't she, but she can be quite vicious. And you've already met Paul." Paul just waved hello. "Where's Noore? I thought I asked for everyone to be here."

Paul answered. "Noore couldn't be here. The Golden Path attacked her fortress when most of the Royal soldiers were sent to help you."

"They really are getting bolder. Yuma, Paul, Ajay here is going to help us take down the Golden Path." Pagan said cheerfully.

The two generals looked really shocked by that and stared at Ajay for a few seconds.

Ajay felt a bit uncomfortable under their gazes and said, "Yeah, I'll do what I can to help."

"Such a good chap he is. Dependable, strong, polite and he volunteers to help. Quite the find isn't he?"

"Wǒ xūyào tǎolùn de dōngxī yǔ nǐ de sīrén."

Pagan sighed. "Oh very well. Ajay, why don't you ask around and see if there's anything you can do."

Ajay nodded his head. Pagan and Yuma left the room and looked around. This place was huge. He walked over to a technician who looked very frustrated.

"Damn it!" The technician shouted as he threw his headphones on the table.

"Something wrong?"

The technician turned to Ajay. "Yeah. The radio waves have been taken over by the Golden Path, so we can't send out long range messages. I'm getting sick and tired of listening to this Rabi Ray Rana. We use the bell towers around here to send radio waves all over the country, but we're limited because of the Golden Path's interference."

"Can't you just send someone to fix it?"

"We did, but the Golden Path has people guarding it and the bell towers aren't in the best shape, so some have either died or got seriously injured." The technician suddenly hit his radio when he heard Rabi Ray speak again.

"I can go do it."

The technician was hesitant at first. "I don't know about sending Pagan's special guest to do an odd-job like this, but we need those airways back, so if you can help, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Alright, I'll be back." Ajay left the room and headed outside. Before he could leave he was stopped by Paul.

"Hey Ajay, where're you headed?" Paul asked.

"I'm going to that bell tower to get rid of the Golden Path transmitters. I'm helping the technicians take over the broadcasts manually."

Paul nodded his head in approval and tossed him a set of keys.

"Take the truck over there. It's all fueled up and everything. Also since you're heading in that direction, could you do me a favor?"

"What do you need?"

"Some wolves are causing some trouble and are running around attacking everything they see in a nearby village. If you can, can you put them down for me?"

"Sure, I guess I can do that."

"Good, oh and be careful they might have caught rabies, that's probably why they're vicious right now." Paul walked away.

Ajay couldn't help, but frown. He could have mentioned the wolves had rabies before he agreed. Ajay just shook it off and walked to the truck. He got in and left, the guards just opened the door and let him leave without any fuss. Ajay wondered if Pagan gave him free reign to leave and come whenever he wanted.

In about five minutes Ajay got to the bell tower and saw it was guarded by two Golden Path rebels. As soon as they saw him they opened fire. Ajay ducked behind some rocks. He popped out of cover and opened fire. He shot the first rebel in the head made the second rebel stumble. Ajay ran out of cover and quickly killed the second rebels, by loading two bullets in his chest. Ajay knelt down to their bodies and took their weapons. He got a .44 Magnum from the first rebel and an M133 shotgun from the second rebel.

Now for the hard part. Ajay scaled the tower and nearly fell to his death several times before finally reaching to the top. He found the transmitter and disabled it, allowing the airwaves to be easy to access for the Royal Army. Now for the wolves.

Ajay ziplined down back to the ground. He threw his weapons in the truck and took off west. He came to a small village with a few houses. An old woman came up to him.

"Are you here about the wolves?" Ajay nodded. "Good, they've been a nuisance. They have a den not far from here in that direction." The old woman pointed south. Ajay nodded again, he pulled out his shot gun and went hunting. "One moment young man. If you don't mind, when you kill those animals, can you bring their skins to me. I'm sure I can make something useful out of them."

"Sure, I can do that."

She reached behind her and pulled out a bow. "Here then use this bow instead of your shotgun. That way it won't damage the skins."

Ajay was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't use a shotgun, but he wanted to help so he took the bow and a small quiver.

He went into the woods. So far he hadn't seen anything, but he heard nearby howling. Suddenly he found three wolves feasting on a deer. He pulled back the arrow on his bow and then let it soar. The arrow hit one wolf in the head and killed it instantly. The other wolves started to growl and bark and charged him. Ajay pulled back anther arrow and let loose. The arrow got the wolf in the shoulder, but it was still coming. Ajay loaded a second arrow and this time got the wolf right in the head. The third wolf however got too close for Ajay to fire another arrow and it pounced on him. Ajay struggled a bit, but he managed to push the snarling wolf off of him and even get in a good punch to its snout. Ajay pulled out his Kukri as the wolf circled him. It snapped at him and Ajay swung his blade. Wolf tried to get in close but Ajay managed to stab its neck before it could sink its teeth into him.

Ajay breathed heavily after what he just did. When he calmed down he tried his best to skin the three wolves and hoped he did alright before putting them in his bag. He followed some wolf tracks that led off into the distance. He found the rest of the wolves and their den.

He fired two arrows that killed two wolves instantly, but that made the other wolves attack him. Ajay quickly ran as he had a whole pack on him. Ajay thought he would have to switch to a gun in order to kill the rest, but lady luck was on his side when he saw a tall rock. Ajay quickly climbed onto the rock and the wolves could not get to him. The wolves snarled, growled, and barked as Ajay was just out of reach. Ajay smirked and pulled his bow. He shot all of the wolves in the head with an arrow. The last one fell, when the coast was clear Ajay jumped down from the rock and skinned the wolves.

He walked back to their den, before collapsing it by shooting an explosive barrel. Ajay went back to the small village and approached the old woman.

"Here you go. I dealt with all the wolves and destroyed their den. They shouldn't be a problem anymore. Here are their skins."

"Thank you, Ajay." She looked in the bag. "Hmm, you collected more than I thought you would. Young man, I'd like to craft you something if you don't mind. As a bonus for helping out this small village. You may want to watch as well. You might learn something."

"Sure, why not."

For an hour Ajay watched the old woman craft some wolf skins into a leather strap. She presented it to him.

"Here you go young man. A weapon holster. You can carry an extra weapon with you now. In this country, you're going to need it."

Ajay took the holster gratefully. "Thank you. I appreciate it." Ajay sat there in thought for a moment before he voiced a question. "Hey what do you think of Pagan Min?"

The old woman raised an eyebrow at that. "I assume you've met the man. You don't need me to tell you what a terrible man he is."

"But you still call him King, when the Golden Path calls him a tyrant."

"He is a tyrant. He makes no secret of that. But, he also has decreased much crime in the country, other than the Golden Path terrorists at least, and has even brought in many medicines and food from foreign countries. This village was suffering from a disease a few years ago and to stop it from spreading, Pagan Min called in a bunch of medicine and helped many people who were dying. One of those people was my grandson. So, yes King Min is a terrible man who has done some terrible things, but he has done many great things as well. So have the Golden Path, but I side with Pagan because being isolated from the outside world could be a lot worse for my country. Pagan may have taken this country by force, but he has definitely made some things better."

Ajay stared at the lady for a moment before thanking her and walking away. That gave him some insight on what the people think of the Royal Army and Pagan Min. And it was as he expected. These people were afraid of Pagan and they knew what he is, but they accept him as king because they know he can do a lot of good things for their country.

. . .

"Ajay my boy! I hear you've been a busy bee. Climbing bell towers, killing rabid wolves, remarkable! I'm especially thankful for that first one. God knows we need better radio in this back-water monkey country."

"Just doing what I can to help." Ajay smiled.

"And modest too! Some lucky lady's gonna be a real winner with you. Or man, whatever your interests are. Oh! Ajay come with me, we need to change you out of those clothes."

Ajay looked down at his attire. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing really. But, their all torn, ripped and blood stained from all the . . . activities you've been doing. I figured you could do with some new duds."

Ajay looked at his attire one more time before shrugging. What's the harm? He followed Pagan through some hallways and they entered a room that was filled with mannequins, many different fabrics, and drawings of outrageous looking clothes. A single kyrati man was standing at a table looking at other designs. He turned his head when he heard someone come in.

"Mr. Chiffon, I have a surprise for you. Meet Ajay Ghale. Ajay Ghale, meet Mumu Chiffon, my tailor."

Chiffon eyed Ajay for a long time, taking in every inch of his image. The silence and the obvious eyeing was making Ajay slightly uncomfortable. Chiffon spoke up once his observation was done.

"So the rumors are true. I don't know whether to call you Ajay or Adonis?"

. . .

. . .

Ooookkkaaaaayyyyy?

"Those brooding eyes, that determined jaw . . ." Chiffon tried to stroke his cheek, but Ajay politely shooed it away. "the clothes are more Salvation Army than Royal Army, but I can work with this. Pardon me, as our great King has said already, I am Mumu Chiffon, Tailor of the Crown by Appointment of King of Kyrat, His Royal Highness, Pagan Min. A pleasure to meet you." Mr. Chiffon extended his hand out like a princess waiting to have her backhand kissed. Ajay just awkwardly stared at the hand before just grasping it and shaking it. He really didn't want to kiss it.

"Right now, I am working on designing your new attire. I apologize for not having anything ready, but your arrival was such short notice. For now I'll stitch up what you have, but come see me again and I'll have you personally help me with your new 'fierce' clothes."

"Thanks, Mr. Chiffon."

Chiffon, as he said, fixed up his new attire and even gave him some quality body-armor to keep him alive.

"Now that that's done with I have a mission for you Ajay. I could send one of my men to do it, but I think you could handle it much better. I need you to go visit a weapons dealer in southern Kyrat. His name is Longinus, odd fellow he is, but we could use his weapons."

"Don't you have enough guns here?"

"You can never have enough guns, Ajay. But, the Golden Path has attacked and destroyed several of our weapons and supply depots and killed our original weapons supplier as well, so we're running low on guns and ammunition. The Golden Path actually has their own weapons dealer, but he is not an outsider like Longinus. He is from Kyrat and is very dangerous. He's been to the Middle East, Africa, South America and has learned a lot about using and selling guns. He's a master arms-trafficker."

"Who is he?"

"Nasas. He's dangerous, but we'll get to that later. Go to Longinus and get the guns we need. I hear he is especially generous to the people he likes. You may not know it Ajay, but people come to like you very easily."

Ajay, didn't know how that was possible since he preferred to avoid talking to people. Nevertheless he agreed to go talk to Longinus. Ajay loaded up his new shotgun and pistol, got in his truck, and went to go see this Longinus guy.

After a while driving Ajay came to a large tent. He could hear gunfire in the distance, but didn't know which direction exactly. He walked into the tent and was greeted with a submachine gun pointed at his head, by an old African man.

"Tell me! What kind of gun do you believe the Son of Christ would wield?"

. . . . . . . was anyone in this country NORMAL!


	4. Prisoners and Outposts

**. . . . nothing to really say here**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Far Cry, Ubisoft does and lets be thankful for that!**

Chapter 4

 **Prisoners and Outposts**

 _The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his._ -General Patton

Ajay would admit one thing about Kyrat, it was never boring and by extension full of interesting people. Ajay had just met Longinus, the Royal Army's new religious weapons dealer. Ajay would never have guessed that it would be possible to mix religion with weapons trafficking, but he just met the man who defied such thoughts. He didn't seem like a bad guy to Ajay, a little crazy but not bad.

Longinus didn't seem like the type to help a usurper like Pagan Min. He seemed, to Ajay, the kind of guy to root for the underdog, like the Golden Path. Against his better judgment, Ajay had asked the weapons dealer why he was willing to do business with Pagan and his Royal Army. Longinus answered by saying that he originally came to Kyrat to help the Golden Path, but decided to switch sides when he found out the Golden Path was dealing with Nasas, the Kyrati Arms Dealer. Apparently, Nasas has a very infamous reputation, a reputation that greatly distastes Longinus. While both may traffic weapons, their methods and reasons are vastly different. Longinus traveled the world trying to bring hope to people where there was none and give people a fighting chance against injustice. Nasas sold to people as long as it was profitable and caused more harm, destruction, and chaos whenever and wherever he could. As far as Longinus is concerned, anyone who does business with Nasas is not so good in his book.

That was all fine with Ajay, it just meant more weapons for the Royal Army.

Suddenly Ajay's radio crackled.

"Ajay! Ajay are you there?" It was Pagan and he sounded worried.

Ajay answered quickly. "Yeah Pagan I'm here."

Pagan sighed in relief. "Oh thank god!"

"Is something wrong?"

"Sorry about that Ajay. One of our outposts got attacked and captured and it was in the general area that you were in."

"That must have been what all that gunfire in the distance was." Ajay wondered as he looked off into the distance.

"Hmm, what's that De Pluer?" Ajay could hear Paul's voice as he explained the situation. "Ah, shit. Apparently the Golden Path had taken several of our soldiers prisoner after they claimed the outpost."

". . . . I can go rescue them if you'd like." Ajay offered out of nowhere.

Pagan didn't respond instantly as Ajay thought he would. The radio was silent for a while to the point that Ajay wondered if it died, but Pagan spoke up before he could check. "That's very kind of you Ajay, but there will be a lot of people guarding the POW's and when you free them the outpost will be heavily guarded."

"Then I guess I better get them before I hit the outpost. That way I'll at least have backup."

"Hmm, why are you so determined to do this Ajay?" Pagan asked.

Good question.

"I want to help however I can."

There was once again another pause on the radio. The pause was quickly interrupted by Pagan laughing his head off. Ajay had to pull the radio away from his head it was so loud.

"Hahahahaha! You are your mother's son! Never satisfied in staying in one place and preferred action over words. Very well Ajay I leave this mission in your capable hands. I've sent you the coordinates, good luck my boy."

The radio went dead and Ajay looked towards the direction the coordinates said the prisoners were in.

 _Back at The Royal Palace_

"Your Highness, are you sure letting a single man, Ajay Ghale of all people, to handle this on his own?" Paul asked.

Pagan was staring out at Kyrat, namely in the direction that Ajay was in. Yuma was sitting down at a table fiddling with a combat knife. She was eyeing Pagan curiously as the flamboyant man turned from his sightseeing.

"Do you not trust Ajay, Paul?" Pagan asked teasingly.

Paul would never question Pagan's decisions. The man did strange things every day, not to mention he was extremely dangerous and unpredictable. Asking the wrong thing at the wrong time could get you killed. But, Ajay was different. Ever since Ajay came to the country, Pagan has been different. Pagan seemed calmer and more at ease when it came to Ajay and Paul had no idea how that would turn out. For Pagan, for himself, for the Royal Army as a whole.

Did he believe Ajay could be trusted? He had no idea. This was his country and it is under the rule of mad tyrant. But, that mad tyrant was probably the closest he had to a father figure and family. There were just too many unknowns.

"It's not that I don't trust him, your Highness. But, he is just one man."

Pagan smirked and chuckled at the American's answer. "Your right, he's just one man. A single man who will take this whole country."

Both Paul and Yuma looked at him curiously, wondering what he meant, but before they could ask him, the King of Kyrat left with a wide smile on his face.

"I don't suppose you know what he's going on about?" Paul asked Yuma.

Yuma grunted and got up from her seat. She answered none the less. "I don't, but I'd say: wait a while. If Pagan thinks that Ajay will be successful, then I'd like to see what the outcome will be."

With that Yuma left the room and Paul was alone. The American sighed as he wondered what the future will hold for his career here in Kyrat.

 _With Ajay_

Ajay was currently outside a small cluster of houses that the Royal soldiers were being held hostage in. He had his camera out and scanned the whole area. He had determined that there were four hostages and five Golden Path rebels. One soldier was giving the Golden Path some trouble.

"Shut up, whore!" A Golden Path rebel shouted as he slapped the hostage.

The hood that the hostage had on fell down and revealed the Royal Army soldier to be a woman. She had short dark brown hair that was braided on the side. She had dark skin and green eyes. On her forehead was a traditional bindi. Ajay had to admit, she was quite the looker.

The girl was bleeding at the mouth, but she smiled none the less. "Hmph, is that it? I know little girls that can hit harder than you." That earned her another slap. "Can someone bring me a real man here! This one's having performance issues! I guess his momma ain't around to encourage him!" Another slap, and this looked harder. "Keep trying Dickless, that time felt like getting hit by a gentle breeze." Guess it wasn't hard enough.

He hit her in the stomach with the butt of his gun and then grabbed her by the throat. "I'll show you a real man, bitch." He glowered. The girl just smiled smugly before spitting in his eye.

Ajay laughed and decide to move now before the female soldier go them all killed. Ajay circled around the village and hid behind some bushes behind a house. He took out a bow and arrow and pulled the arrow back. A rebel was in the house and was looking out the window. Ajay aimed and let loose. The arrow found itself buried in the man's heart and he died before he could shout out.

Ajay smirked. He was very skilled with a bow. He took lessons in archery in the states and even won some championships. His teachers said he was a natural and his mother was very proud. Unfortunately being good at something, especially too good, became very boring. Archery was hardly a challenge for him anymore.

Ajay moved forward into the camp and spotted the first hostage. Ajay took out a single throwing knife and carefully aimed before letting the blade fly. His aim was true as it imbedded in the man's head. The hostage looked shocked and Ajay quickly motioned for him to be quiet. Ajay took the throwing knife from the dead man and with careful precision took out the furthest rebel with it. Ajay smirked, but it went as quickly as it came as he saw a rebel approach the rebel he just killed. Thinking quickly, Ajay took his bow and fired. The bow hit its mark, but the rebel didn't go down instantly. The rebel yelled out, but Ajay quickly silenced him with an arrow to the face. It was too late however as the last rebel, the one that was guarding the female soldier was on alert after hearing the shout, but he didn't know what was happening or where Ajay was. Quickly throwing all panic and thoughts away, Ajay grabbed his Kukri and sprinted towards the final rebel. The rebel was on alert, but he wasn't sure for what exactly. The rebel spun around looking for attackers or his fellow Golden Path. The rebel spun around and saw Ajay run at him with a blade. The rebel raised his gun, but was too late. Ajay inserted his kukri right into the man's neck. Ajay heard a squelching noise when he inserted his blade and a bloody gurgle from the rebel's mouth. The last thing the rebel saw before he died was Ajay's stone cold face.

The female soldier stared wide eyed as Ajay dropped the rebel corpse. Ajay looked at her and she smirked. "Not bad, but I wanted to be the one to kill him." She playfully whined.

Ajay rolled his eyes as he untied her. "Your welcome."

"I was handling it." Ajay wasn't convinced.

The two of them went to the other hostages and untied them. The hostages stretched their arms glad to be freed.

"Thanks for the help . . . umm?"

"Ajay Ghale."

They all looked wide-eyed at him.

"Wow **the** Ajay Ghale came to save us singlehandedly. I'm honored." The female soldier said.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Nisha, the rest of these guys don't matter." She waved off unimportantly, which earned her a glare from them.

"I'm planning to retake the outpost that was lost. Do you guys want to help take it back?"

They all looked surprised to hear Ajay say that.

"Are you serious?" One soldier asked.

"Yes I am."

The three male soldiers looked nervous. They got their butts handed to them by the Golden Path not even an hour ago and this guy already wanted to go head long into that fight?

Nisha, however, actually smile predatorily at the thought.

"I'm in. I want some payback for what those assholes did." She punched her fist into her open palm in excitement.

The other soldiers just sighed and agreed to go along with them.

So, Ajay and the Royal soldiers followed Ajay towards the outpost. On the outskirts of the outpost, Ajay pulled out his camera and examined the place from a distance. The outpost definitely had seen recent battle, upturned cars, scorch marks, bullet holes, fires, corpses that were being thrown into said fires. There were several Golden Path terrorists. Seven if Ajay was correct. The Golden Path just seemed to be idle except for a couple of them who were guarding a large gate, which was holding a . . .

"Is that an elephant?" Ajay asked as he put his camera away.

Nisha nodded. "Yes. They must be a part of Amita's faction."

"Amita's faction? Isn't the Golden Path a faction itself?" Ajay asked.

Nisha nodded again. "Yes, though it's more like a movement that opposes King Min now. I'm sure you were told that the Golden Path is led by Sabal and Amita. Those two have such different and conflicting beliefs that they have created two factions within their faction that, while both oppose King Min, they also silently oppose each other. They unwittingly created an unspoken civil war with each other and if it weren't for Pagan they'd have killed each other already."

"How have they not fallen already because of such bad leadership?" Ajay couldn't understand how the Golden Path could function if both their leaders wanted to kill one another and get in each other's way.

"Like I said, they both oppose Pagan Min, so while they get in each other's way every now and then they still have a similar goal: kill Pagan and take back Kyrat. Some have referred to Sabal and Amita as a two headed elephant. Both heads try to go in different directions, but get nowhere. But, no matter how many heads it has, an elephant can still charge when it feels threatened."

Ajay nodded his head in agreement. As he was coming up with a plan, he asked another question he had. "So how can you tell that's Amita's faction?"

She pointed at the Golden Path. "It's very easy. Amita's group consists mostly of women, who are sick of the traditions of Kyrat and want things to change. Then there's the caged elephant." They heard the elephant trumpet from the outpost. "Elephants are considered sacred animals in Kyrat. Sabal's faction would never cage an elephant, but Amita is another story. Heck, Amita's group actually use elephants as weapons of war."

Ajay suddenly got an idea. It was crazy, but it could actually end the fight quickly.

"You all stay here, I have plan. If it goes awry then I'll have you guys pull my ass out of the fire."

The soldiers looked like they wanted to object, but before they could voice their concerns Ajay left. Nisha couldn't help but smile at Ajay's courage however.

Ajay silently climbed down the rock face and prayed that he wouldn't be spotted. Thankfully he wasn't and was able to enter the cage of the elephant. The pachyderm was docile right now and didn't seem to mind Ajay being near it. Ajay silently watched the guards move and hoped he wouldn't get found out yet. Aja petted the creature's trunk, soothing it.

"Man I hope this works, because I really don't want this thing to kill me." The elephant was calm, so Ajay continued his plan. He hopped on the elephant and rode out of the cage like a bull rider.

The elephant trumpeted loudly and charged out of the gate, smashing it down and crushing the two guards to death before they even knew what killed them. The Golden Path were now on alert. They started shooting at Ajay and the elephant. Ajay laid low on the elephants back while the elephant did most of the damage. The elephant stomped on one Golden Path rebel and then smashed another rebel into the ground a few times with its trunk. Ajay pulled out his bow and fired a couple arrows into the chest of a rebel and then another arrow into a rebel's skull. The last rebel unfortunately managed to make it to the alarm box before the elephant swatted him away with its trunk, mangling his body. Reinforcements would arrive soon.

Ajay motioned for the elephant to hide behind the houses. They waited until Ajay heard the vehicle coming. When Ajay felt they were close enough, he had the elephant charge out of hiding and ram the truck as it arrived in their sights. The truck tipped over and to make sure no Golden Path survived, the elephant stood on its hind legs and slammed down on the vehicle, crushing anyone inside. All that was left was a second truck now. Ajay charged the elephant at it. The Golden Path fired their weapons, but all that did was piss the elephant off more. The Golden Path got out of the way as the elephant charged at them. It hit the truck and made it do a backflip, which landed on a poor rebel who ran in the wrong direction, crushing him to death. Ajay pulled on his bow and took out two rebels before the elephant smashed the last one with its trunk. With that the outpost was taken.

Ajay searched his surroundings, making sure he got all of the Golden Path enemies. When the coast was clear, he smiled and hoped off the elephant. He patted the large mammal and thanked it. The elephant trumpeted positively in response before lumbering off into the forest.

The Royal Army soldiers Ajay had rescued ran up to him and looked at him with awe and excitement.

"That was amazing Ajay!"

"Yeah, those Golden Path bastards didn't even know what hit'em!"

Nisha was also very impressed. She had this look of exhilaration on her face as she stared wide-eyed and awed at Ajay. "You were incredible! You just hopped on that elephant and went to town! You took on those cocksuckers and took this outpost singlehandedly!"

"I did get help from the elephant." Ajay said.

"Pfft, yeah but you rode it and it listened to you." She punched Ajay in the shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short my friend. You're a natural on the battlefield. You took it in stride and made it your bitch."

Ajay rubbed his shoulder where Nisha punched him and just smiled.

Ajay called in Pagan as the Royal Soldiers cleaned up the mess. Well, as much as they could clean up bodies, blood, and scrapped and crushed vehicles.

To say Pagan was delighted about the rescued soldiers and the retaken outpost was an understatement.

"Well done Ajay, I knew you could do it! I'll send in some soldiers to hold that outpost. Hopefully we'll be able to keep it this time." Pagan grumbled. "I have something planned in the works to get some payback against the Golden Path, Ajay, but for now why don't you take a break and do your own thing. Have some fun, see the sights, meet the locals. Do whatever you want, just don't cause too much trouble . . . at least without me. Chow!"

Ajay put his radio away and considered his next objective. Suddenly, Ajay heard a roaring engine and saw a Royal Army truck. On the back of the truck was a man that just screamed red-neck. He wore a blue vest, headband, sweats and sneakers.

"Did we miss it? Dude, no! We did not just miss the action." The man whined in disappointment.

"Uh, have we met?" Ajay asked confused.

"Man, I'm the cavalry, man. I was gonna role up here like goddamned Clint Eastwood! I'm Hurk. I heard about you man, taking names, writing checks out to: Kicking ass, man. That's why I'm here, because you and me together . . . the Golden Path won't know what hit'em! Yeah, right in their faces!"

"You're with the Royal Army?" Ajay asked disbelieving.

"Yeah! Well . . . not officially, I'm more like hired help, man. I came here with some business of my own, but I figured I better get in good with the locals before I do my own thing, you know. And what do you know, this place has a terrorist problem too and what better way to get in good with the locals then by helping them kill some Golden Path douchebags, am I right!"

"Yeah I guess." Ajay still wasn't sure about the man. He didn't look like anyone that Pagan would ever hire, but he didn't seem bad either. Ajay looked at the truck driver and saw him twirl his index finger in circles near his temple, telling Ajay that Hurk was crazy.

"Listen up man, the next time you need help in a fight, you give us a call, we'll swoop in and help you, me or my Royal soldier buddies here. That's right, you and me, fighting side by side, the new and improved tat bros, that's right living the dream baby! Come on, punch it in!" Hurk held out his closed fist for a fist bump. Ajay was unsure for a moment as he thought Hurk was a little eccentric for him, but he gave the man a fist bump anyway, it just came in a little slow.

"Boom! I went French fries you stayed potato. That's alright. You kinda came in on the slow bus too, but that's okay, you got there, so I got respect for that. I'm gonna see you around though, okay? Okay!" Hurk banged the roof of the truck. "Let's roll Royal Army homie! Yee-haw!" The truck started speeding up, kicking up dust and dirt, before it made a U-turn to the road behind it. All while it's horn blared.

"Okay then . . ." Ajay just kept meeting stranger and stranger people. Now that Ajay had some time, he had to go meet another person, who was more than likely strange. Some producer named, Sharma Salsa

Two Hours Later

So Ajay had met with Sharma Salsa, who wasn't as strange or as eccentric as he thought she'd be. In fact, other than being a former porn star and a bit flirty she was probably the most normal person he had met in Kyrat so far. She had contacted him some time before his assault on the outpost and said she wanted to meet with him. Something about making him a star. She was the founder and CEO of Kyrati International Association of Films and Kyrati Film Directors and Actors Guild of Kyrat. She had heard he was in the country and wanted him to be in her new films and videos. Thankfully, pornography wasn't all the rage as it was and instead of anything . . . pleasantly unpleasant, she wanted him to do daredevil stunts and races. Ajay didn't refuse as he was already doing stuff like that running around, so why not get paid for it? And also, though not many people knew this, Ajay was kind of an adrenalin junkie. Back in the States Ajay would sometimes go to street races and attend extreme sports rallies and sometimes even participate in those events.

Salsa gave him a camera for him to use while he raced or did other dangerous stunts. The first race Salsa had him do was with a quad-bike. He drove for about a mile on a timer and had apparently taken the highscore. Salsa apparently had other racers and sometimes she had them race and compete with each other and on the first try Ajay had beaten them all, which pleased Sharma very much.

Afterwards Ajay spent the rest of his time traveling around Kyrat. He traded with some wandering traders, freed some captured soldiers, and even managed to steal a supply truck from the Golden Path and take it to a Royal Army outpost. He also, took a couple more Bell Towers and liberated a couple of outposts as well. And this was only his second day or maybe his third? Time flies while you're busy and having fun.

. . . Having fun? Ajay wasn't sure if he liked that train of thought. Normally killing people and waging war was not fun. Very not fun. Ajay didn't consider himself a very violent man. Sure he got into some fights and did some bad things in the past, but nothing that actually said he liked violence. But, being here in his home country, in Kyrat, there was something so liberating about this place. Almost as if all worry and restrictions were removed and he was weightless, free to do what he wanted.

Ajay yawned and looked at his watch and then the setting sun. It was getting late and he needed to rest. He had a long day and the days were only going to get longer in the future. Ajay, put aside his thoughts for now and headed to the nearest outpost to get some rest. Ajay set his alarm on his watch to wake him up in the morning and went to bed, he was so tired he instantly fell asleep.

. . .

Ajay's alarm woke him up. He put on his clothes, strapped on his weapons, an AK-47 and a 1911 pistol. He exited the safe house and just as he closed the door he came face to face with four hunters pointing arrows at him. Ajay quickly noticed that they were baring a symbol of two yellow kukris crossing each other, indicating they were Golden Path. One of the hunters slowly approached him. Ajay looked around the outpost and saw the bodies of several dead Royal soldiers. They were all taken out in a sneak attack.

"Ajay Ghale?"

"Yes."

"You're coming with us."

Ajay didn't say anything before he slowly reached for his sidearm. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and an arrow imbedded in his forearm.

"Try that again and the next one goes in your skull." The hunter threatened.

Ajay was relieved of his weapons. A black bag was placed over his head and he was tossed into a vehicle. Ajay remained silent the whole way, wondering why the Golden Path had not just killed him. All he could do now was hope that he could get out of this situation somehow.

 **So Ajay has been captured by the Golden Path. What does his late father's organization want with him? I wonder.**

 **A shout out to Krieg! Thanks for being my very first reviewer, I hope you like the story!**


	5. May the Light Shine Upon You

**This was a LONG chapter. I feel I should warn readers that I update inconsistently. Meaning I update randomly and when I feel like it. So the next time I update could be in a couple of days or even in a couple of weeks. Just thought I'd warn the people reading my story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 **May the Light Shine Upon You**

 _Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to let another person or event to control you. –Pema Chodron_

Now, normally most people would be in a panic when they are kidnapped by terrorists and have a black bag thrown on top of their head, but not Ajay. Oh no, he already did this song and dance and it was with the craziest person in all of Kyrat. Sure Pagan never meant him any harm from the beginning, but that still didn't reduce the fact that Pagan was goddamned terrifying. So, even though Ajay was now in the hands of the Golden Path, his late father's organization, he was calm. Calmer then the first time he was kidnapped, at least.

He was in the Golden Path's hands for a few hours by now. At least, Ajay thought a few hours had passed. It was hard to tell time with a bag over his head. It certainly felt like hours.

Ajay knew he was in some kind of building or shack, since he heard a door open and then close when he walked in. He was also probably in some kind of village, since he could hear a lot of people outside. The Golden Path tied him to a chair and left him there since. He wasn't sure if he was guarded or not, but he didn't bother to check. Ajay just decided to wait and see what the Golden Path wanted from him. Knowing nothing good happens in Kyrat, Ajay knew this would not be any better.

Suddenly, Ajay could hear people talking and coming closer to his position. Well, it was more like arguing instead of talking considering the two individual's voices kept rising as they spoke. From what, Ajay could tell, the voices were of a man and a woman and they were being followed by a few more people, possibly Golden Path soldiers.

"I told you, Amita, to leave Ajay Ghale to me. We were supposed to meet him on friendly terms. Instead you go over my head—again—and take him hostage!"

"He has been causing problems for us, Sabal! He's already reclaimed a few of the Outposts and Bell Towers for Pagan. You know, Pagan? The fucking dictator who rules over our whole country?! If he were really on our side, Sabal, he wouldn't be fighting for that monster."

"I am very well aware of the situation. But, Pagan has been feeding him lies, showing him illusions. We just have to show him that he's fighting for the wrong side. We're supposed to show him the country and home his father fought and died for and so far all we've shown him is violence."

"He killed our people Sabal! He is helping Pagan! He is an outsider who knows nothing of our country or its strife. We should kill him for even lifting a finger for Pagan."

"We are not killing him! He is the son of Mohan Ghale. His views have been plagued by Pagan and his ilk. I am willing to give him a chance."

With that the door opened and Ajay listened to the people fill into the room.

"Would someone remove that damn bag before he suffocates." The man known as Sabal ordered.

The bag on Ajay's head was removed and Ajay was finally able to see his captors. In front of him was a Kyrati man and woman. Both looked to be in their mid to late twenties. The man, who Ajay assumed was Sabal, had tan skin, black hair, and green eyes. He wore a denim jacket, with the Golden Path's insignia on it, tan pants, and combat boots. Ajay could tell that he had seen a lot of battle and war, judging from the scar over his eyebrow and the look in his eyes. The woman, who Ajay assumed was Amita, had tan skin, long black hair that was tied in a ponytail, and hazel eyes. She was wearing a tan vest over a white shirt, a yellow scarf around her neck, parachute pants, and wrappings around her boots. She also had some kind of Hindi marking on her forehead. Ajay would say she was attractive, but she had a look on her face that said, "everything around me annoys me, fuck off!" She just glared at Ajay.

Behind those two were Golden Path rebels, but one guy caught his attention the most. He was short, very short. Probably like 5'4. He was sitting on a box cross-legged. He was kyrati, like Sabal and Amita. He had dark skin, dark brown eyes, and was bald. He wore some kind of long white tunic, with a yellow sash, and some Kyrati bead necklace around his neck. He was holding an AK-47 and examining it, while also observing Ajay. Ajay got the feeling he was some kind of weasely fellow.

Sabal knelt down to Ajay so that they were eye level. The man had a bright, almost nostalgic smile on his face.

"You're like the spitting image. Hello, Ajay Ghale. My name is Sabal, leader of the Golden Path."

"Hm-hmm!" Amita grunted.

Sabal scowled, when Amita interrupted. "And this is Amita, the co-leader of the Golden Path." Ajay thought Sabal was trying to stop himself from throwing up after saying that. "Behind us, is Nasas, our weapons dealer and expert. I am terribly sorry, about this. We were supposed to approach you peacefully and talk peacefully, but some people are just too impatient." Sabal looked towards Amita for a second and turned his attention just as quickly back to Ajay. "Actually we intended to liberate you from Pagan the day you arrived in Kyrat. Darpan was supposed to deliver you to us, but Pagan reached you first. We stormed his stronghold, but were stopped. All my men were killed and I was lucky to have gotten out alive."

"It was a waste of our soldiers." Amita interrupted again. She had her arms crossed "It did give us an opportunity to strike at Pagan," and her scowl deepened, "but you prevented us from killing him and ending this war instantly."

If looks could kill, Ajay would be dead, but so would Amita, since Sabal was also glaring at her.

"Pagan Min fed him lies, Amita. He was using him for his own ends." Sabal turned his attention back to Ajay. "Ajay, your father created the Golden Path in order to free Kyrat from Pagan's hands. You came to Kyrat to help us liberate our homeland. To free its people and save our country. It is fate that you come here now. The Gods have sent you to aid us in our struggle, to put an end to this war."

Ajay remembered what Pagan said about Sabal. That he was a religious zealot, that put tradition ahead of everything else. Ajay could tell that everything Sabal said, he believed. The others, Amita, Nasas, and the rebels didn't even flinch at what Sabal said, though Amita rolled her eyes and Nasas smirked before polishing his rifle. Had Ajay not already settled his mother's dying wish, he might have believed Sabal.

"Your wrong." Sabal frowned and, for a moment, Ajay felt like he was in a cage with a mad elephant. "I came here because my mother died and she asked me to bring her ashes to Kyrat, to Lakshmana."

Sabal was quick to react. "An honorable request and one that does not diminish your role here. Lakshmana sounds like a shrine, which means it's in the north. We retook most of the outposts in the north, but we'd need to defeat Pagan first in order to fi—"

"I already found Lakshmana. Pagan was the one who helped me. He's the reason my mother is at peace now."

Sabal took a step back and the others in the room looked at each other. Ajay wasn't completely sure, but they looked perplexed and inquisitive. They probably couldn't understand why Pagan would help him do something like that.

"And why would Pagan do that? Out of the kindness of his heart?" Amita joked in contempt.

Ajay wasn't sure if he should reveal the truth, it was mostly personal. Not to mention he wasn't sure how they'd react to the information of his mom being the lover and bearer of the child of their oppressive tyrant. "He had his reasons. He wanted my mother to be happy."

Amita smiled disdainfully and Sabal was pacing around the room almost frantically. They still didn't understand.

"So I take it because Pagan helped you, you helped him?" Amita asked.

"That's right."

"You feel you owe him?"

"Yeah."

Suddenly Nasas got up and aimed his assault rifle at Ajay's face.

"We should kill him." Nasas spoke up for the first time. Ajay thought he looked like a weasely man and he apparently had a weasely voice to go with his kyrati accent.

"No!" Sabal rejected vehemently. He shoved Nasas back and forced him to lower his gun. "He is still Mohan's son! We can still save him. He can still help us."

Amita scoffed. "C'mon Sabal, he's not interested in helping us. What are you going to do to convince him?"

"I will show him, what Pagan has done to this country. I will show him what we are fighting for. What his father was fighting for. I will make him see what side he should be fighting for." Even though he was saying that to Amita, Sabal was glaring at Ajay.

Amita started to laugh. "You honestly think that will work? Come on Sabal, be reasonable. He is a threat and he should be dealt with like a threat."

"I said no!" Amita actually took a step back in surprise from how loudly Sabal denied her. "Ajay has not lived in our country, he does not know our ways despite being kyrati himself. I will show him the right path. He deserves a second chance." He looked Ajay in the eyes. "It is what his father would have done."

Amita sighed as she realized she could not persuade Sabal. She knew that this decision would bite them in the ass.

They untied Ajay from the chair, but they kept his hands bound behind his back. They led him outside, where Ajay's suspicions were confirmed: he was in a village. He had apparently walked out of a shed and saw many small houses and buildings. All sorts of people were running around. There were women washing clothes, men tending to the fields around the village, there were some children playing in the streets, half naked men with body paint on them meditating in the streets, monkeys surrounding them for some reason, and Golden Path rebels guarding certain spots. It didn't seem like a big village to Ajay.

"Welcome to Banapur, brother. The home of the Golden Path." Sabal said as he motioned to the whole village. Ajay raised an eyebrow at Sabal. The Rebel Leader was already calling him brother, despite the fact he hadn't even joined them. Ajay just decided to keep quiet for now and examine the Golden Path's base.

Amita and Nasas went their separate ways and Ajay followed Sabal. Not that he had a choice, a rebel hit him roughly with his rifle to get him to move. Ajay followed Sabal through the village. They came upon some kind of shrine in the middle of the streets. It was a big shrine. The shrine had pictures of many different people, toys, beaded jewelry, food, bells, and lit incense.

A lot of people had died apparently and very recently. Some of the items by the shrine didn't even look like they were placed that long ago.

"You see this, brother? This is what Pagan and his Royal Army has done. Taken loved ones and friends from us." Sabal got down on one knee, clasped his hands and prayed. When he was done he turned to Ajay. "Pagan has taken the lives of many people, long before you ever got here. Every person on this shrine has died in the name of Kyrat, its culture, and its people. Pagan spits on their existence every moment he is alive. That is the monster you are helping, Ajay."

Ajay didn't waver. "In war both sides lose people. People that have friends, lovers, and families. How many Royal Army soldiers have died because of the Golden Path?"

Sabal , for a moment, looked completely furious. Ajay thought Sabal was going to hit him, but Sabal restrained himself. Sabal breathed in and out slowly through his nose to calm himself down.

When he was calm enough, Sabal spoke. "Not nearly enough, brother. Those traitors have abandoned their people and country for their own selfish desires."

Ajay knew some of that was true. Some of the Royal Army seemed unruly, but he met other soldiers who joined Pagan because they wanted to protect and take care of their families. "Protecting your family is not a selfish desire. Where she alive, I would betray a lot to protect my mother."

"Even your own country and people?" Sabal challenged.

"Even my own country and people. In the end: family is all that matters." And Ajay meant that. Kyrat was a beautiful place and it did feel like home to Ajay, but Kyrat was as alien to him as visiting any other country, even if he did find something alluring about the place.

Apparently that was the wrong answer and Sabal buried his fist in Ajay's gut, making him fall to his knees and dry heave. Ajay coughed for a few seconds, before Sabal decided to move on.

"Let's move on." Sabal said calmly, but Ajay listened to his tone and could tell it was anything but.

The rebel behind Ajay motioned for him to move. Ajay stumbled a bit as he walked. Getting socked in the gut would make anyone a little woozy. They came to the outskirts of the village. Sabal turned his head and perked up from seeing someone. They apparently took a detour and walked over to an archery range. The only one using the range was some kyrati girl.

Ajay examined the girl. She looked no older then fifteen. She had dark skin, brown hair that was tied in a ponytail with a scrunchie, and the biggest green eyes Ajay had ever seen. She was wearing a blue and black jacket that was worn over a pink shirt, a number of colorful bracelets on her right arm, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. As they were approaching her, Ajay noticed her skills in archery. She was very good, in Ajay's opinion. Probably as good as he was when he tried out archery. She aimed her bow, breathed and the arrow found its mark. Very impressive.

"Bhadra." Sabal called and the girl turned in response.

He girl smiled and hugged the Rebel Leader. "Sabal! It's good to see you."

Sabal responded in kind and smiled. "It is good to see you too Bhadra." Sabal then frowned. "But, you shouldn't be practicing archery. It's dangerous and a woman shouldn't be learning such things. Especially, the Tarun Matara."

Ajay stared at the girl. She was the Tarun Matara? This Bhadra girl? Ajay wasn't entirely sure if he should pity her or not.

Bhadra looked nervous now. "But, Amita says I need to train so I can defend myself."

Sabal sighs and rubs his eyes in exasperation. "Amita doesn't think about the consequences of her choices. It would not look good for our future goddess to take up arms and fight. It is unbecoming." Sabal chastised lightly. Bhadra fidgeted uncomfortably. Whether from Sabal's scolding or from something else bothering her, Ajay didn't know. Sabal kneeled down and gripped Bhadra's shoulders gently and smiled. "Do not worry Bhadra, you have me and the Golden Path to defend you. You don't need to worry about fighting or defending yourself." He took Bhadra's bow and set it down. "Now, I want you to go study and put all this foolishness about fighting behind you. You are the future for Kyrat. Our shining hope in the darkness, once Pagan Min is dethroned. Understand?"

"Yes Sabal." Bhadra was about to leave, but she just noticed Ajay and stared. "Who's he?"

"This is Ajay Ghale. Son of Mohan Ghale. He will be joining us after I show him around Kyrat." Sabal answered. Ajay repressed the urge to rebuke Sabal's statement about him joining the Golden Path.

Bhadra just stared for a second longer before responding. "Well it was nice to meet you." She nodded her head in greeting before running off into Banapur.

"It seems a little much to make a kid a goddess don't you think?" Ajay said.

"The United States are very lax about religion, brother. I wouldn't expect you to understand why we need her, but perhaps after what I show you, you will understand."

With that Sabal leads Ajay to a car. They make him sit in the passenger seat, with the rebel in the back seat watching him, while Sabal drives. After a while of driving Ajay asks his question.

"Where are you taking me?" Ajay asked.

"You need to know what drove Mohan. I'm taking you to a place where you will understand." Sabal said cryptically.

. . .

"Welcome to Chal Jama Monastery." Sabal declared.

Ajay looked around and had to admit, the place was impressive. Three monasteries surrounded him, two were ground level, while the biggest one was up hill. All of them were built into the rock faces of a cliff. There were statues of deities and carvings depicting events, it was truly a marvel. Another thing that was impressive was the defenses. On top of the hill were two snipers and two 50. Caliber mounted machine guns. One of each, on two sides protecting the two roads that led into the place. On the bottom of the hill were a bunch or Golden Path rebels and two elephants, which were decorated in colorful body paint. There were some people up on the cliff, but Ajay couldn't see what they were doing.

Sabal took note of Ajay's amazement and smirked. "Pagan Min has brought himself up as a god ever since he took control of Kyrat. He expects us to bow down to him and accept him as our new god." Sabal spat on the ground. "As if we would ever betray our gods like that. So in retaliation for our refusal, he has outlawed our religion and made it illegal to worship. That is the man you fight for." Ajay didn't say anything, but he didn't waver either. "Amita believes it is a waste of our soldiers to defend such 'relics of the past' as she calls them. She is wrong. This is our heritage, our culture, our traditions. Pagan Min wishes to see this place wiped from the land and Amita would let him. What is the point of winning this war if we throw away everything that makes us who we are! We will defend these holy sites, no matter the cost. That is what your father would have done."

Ajay could understand where Sabal was coming from. He could understand wanting to protect these ancient places, but in the middle of a war? This was probably one of the reasons why the Golden Path hasn't been able to win the war yet and why it is in a stalemate. They're wasting soldiers defending places and not even key locations. If Sabal put aside his beliefs in tradition the Golden Path would probably have won by now, but Ajay would not tell him that.

"Come with me."

Ajay followed Sabal up to the monastery. They entered the temple and stopped by a table with a man and a priest behind it.

"Raju, it's good to see you." Sabal greeted.

The man known as Raju greeted back. "Sabal. It is a pleasure to see you as always." Raju looked at Ajay. "Is this him? Is this Ajay Ghale?"

"Yes, he needs to learn what inspired Mohan. He has lost his way and needs to open his mind to the bigger picture."

Ajay was starting to get real tired of being treated like an invalid.

"Of course, Sabal. I'd be happy to teach Ajay." Raju looked at Ajay again. "Banashur, god of gods, sang the world into existence. For that, we give him thanks. We thank the gods for giving us life. Please take an offering basket."

Sabal cut Ajay's ropes off and allowed him to move forward. Without much choice Ajay took the basket, which was filled with flowers, candles, matches, powder, and incense. Raju motioned to Ajay's right and he went into the next room of the temple. Sabal and Raju walked behind him as he entered.

The first thing Ajay did was approach a table with lit and unlit candles. Ajay took a match and lit a candle.

"A candle reminds us that growth only comes with a willingness to step beyond our usual boundaries." Raju said.

The next table Ajay approached had several bowls of incense and ashes. Ajay lit an incense candle and stuck it in the ash and for a second became mesmerized by the smoke rising from the tip.

"Life is as tenuous and fleeting as a wisp of sweet smelling smoke. The incense represents our mortality."

The next part Ajay got to was a mani-wheel. Ajay had already spun a few of these while traveling Kyrat. They always made him feel calmer whenever he was frustrated. He spun the wheel and Raju spoke up again.

"The Gods bless us with wisdom, and we collect them in the prayer wheel to purify ourselves from bad thoughts. Spin the wheel."

Raju had his hands together and his eyes closed in a meditative fashion. Ajay paused for a moment. "Uhh . . . I already did."

Raju opened one of his eyes. "Oh . . . well then, let's move on."

Ajay walked to the next spot. A brazier with a roaring fire.

"Life without emotion is no life at all, but a life controlled by emotion is to be consumed by it. Add the powder."

Ajay took a handful of powder and threw it in the fire. The fire turned a beautiful blue.

When all of that was done Sabal and Raju had Ajay leave the basket at another table. The two of them then had something to show Ajay.

"Normally we don't show people this until they're ready, but Sabal thinks you should see this now." Raju said. Sabal's face was as still as stone and he had his arms crossed.

They went into a spacious room, at the end of the room was an alter and some snarling demon statue sitting cross-legged. A lot of people surrounded the alter, but there was a priest with a goat in front of the large statue. Why did they have a goat in here?

"Yalung, the great demon, resides in all people. He brings false promise and burns hope." The priest took a blade from the alter and held the goat close . . . and then slit the animal's throat. "The goat dies to keep Yalung asleep and sated." Blood fell to the stone floor. The goat struggled in the priests arms, but the priest held firmly on the dying animal. Soon the goat started to slowly lose all its strength, until it stopped moving all together and fell to the floor. Everyone in the room, except Ajay, started meditating and praying.

Ajay knew there were religions that did animal sacrifices, his included. It was a hot debate in America on whether to legalize or illegalize animal sacrifices. This was the first time Ajay had ever witnessed an animal sacrifice. And while Ajay had killed his fair share of animals, this action disturbed him for some reason.

Raju spoke up. "We are a spiritual people. Your father understood, but more than that, he inspired others by his deeds. Think hard on what you have seen here, Ajay."

Ajay turned to Sabal. Behind him were two Golden Path Rebels.

"Now we return to Banapur, where you will think on what you have seen. And think hard brother, I really don't want Amita to be right about you."

Suddenly, bells started to ring loudly outside the temple. That was followed up by a large boom and the temple rumbled a little.

"What was that!?" Sabal yelled.

 **Outside the Temple**

A rocket launcher was fired from an armored truck outside the temple. It hit the cliff face with a huge boom, taking a chunk of rock off the cliff.

There were speakers on several of the trucks. As the Golden Path were getting ready to fight, the speakers screeched before an elegant, yet insane voice came out of them.

"Hm-hmm, testing 1, 2, 3. Am I being heard? Excellent." Pagan Min was standing on one of the trucks, a rocket launcher in his right hand and a microphone in the other. He was out of his flashy suit and was now wearing a military camo uniform with purple highlights, on its left breast was the Royal Army symbol: a golden crown with crossed assault rifles underneath it. "Attention Golden Path, this is your King speaking. You are harboring someone of great importance to me and I would very much like him back. Now I am a fair man, if you return Ajay Ghale to me now, I promise to kill you quickly. If you don't return Ajay to me, I will kill you slowly and very, very painfully. So what's it going to be? The easy way or the hard way?"

Not even a second had passed before a sniper round shot Pagan in the chest. Pagan stumbled back a little, but unfortunately for the Golden Path, he was wearing the best bulletproof vest money could buy. The idiot rebel should have aimed for the head.

"The fun way then." Pagan said into the microphone. The crazy man dropped the mic, smiled sinisterly, aimed the rocket launcher and fired at the sniper. The sniper died in the explosion.

 **Back in the Temple**

The temple rocked again, making bits of ceiling fall to the floor. Sabal and Ajay were still in the sacrificial room. Everyone else had already cleared out. Sabal decided to keep Ajay prisoner and keep him in the room. They tied him up and put him by the alter next to the dead goat.

"Damn it! Watch him; make sure he doesn't leave your sight." Sabal ordered two guards. Sabal pulled out a pistol "I will deal with Pagan." The Rebel Leader left the room and closed the doors behind him.

The guards trained their weapons on Ajay and Ajay just looked at them. Unbeknownst to the guards, Ajay was already cutting off his ropes. During the confusion, when no one was looking, Ajay had managed to grab the blade that the goat was killed with. As Ajay cut the ropes as fast as he could, he could hear the fighting outside, lots of shooting and explosions.

"Hey, guard!" Ajay called over.

"Shut it Ghale."

"Guard! Come over here!"

"I said shut it! I'll not tell you again."

"Would you just get over here already!"

The guard scowled and marched over to Ajay. The guard pointed the barrel of his gun right at Ajay's face.

"Do not make me shoot you Ghale." The guard threatened.

The ropes were finally cut off and the guard was in the perfect position. Faster than he would have expected, Ajay grabbed the barrel of the assault rifle, turned it away from his face and kicked the guard. Ajay managed to pry the gun from the man's hands as he fell to the ground from Ajay's kick. Ajay quickly turned the gun around and shot the guard at the door twice before turning to the downed guard. Before the guard could get up and retaliate, Ajay shot him in the head.

All of that happened in less than five seconds and Ajay could still feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He got up and took a bag from the guard by the door. The bag contained most of his stuff, including his bags, camera, kukri, and radio. Unfortunately, the Golden Path took all his guns and ammo.

Ajay quickly used the radio to contact Pagan.

"Hello! Pagan? Royal Army, can anyone hear me? This is Ajay Ghale."

Pagan was the one to answer. "Ajay! So good to hear you're alright. Where are you?" Pagan said in an excited tone. Ajay could here shooting and explosions in the background.

"Pagan I'm inside the temple."

"Ooo, sorry about that. If I knew you were in there I would've aimed somewhere else. Damn it!" Ajay heard more shooting from the radio. "Sorry about that Ajay. Nearly got trampled by an elephant. I don't suppose you can escape and give us a hand?"

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

Ajay took the weapons and ammo of the two guards. He had the AK-47 from the first guard and then he grabbed an A2000 submachine gun from the second guard. When he was set he slowly approached the doors and opened them as quietly as he could. Outside was one guard. Ajay grabbed his kukri and slowly approached. He quickly covered the rebel's mouth and shoved his blade through the man's back.

The guard dropped to the floor and Ajay examined the room. There were guards on the other side of the room and the door out was clear. Ajay slowly and quietly moved to the door . . . and found it locked.

"Shit."

"Hey! Ajay has escaped!" A rebel noticed Ajay and before he could be riddled with bullets he ran behind cover.

"Uh Pagan, the door's locked I can't get to you through the front door." Ajay shot his assault rifle at the rebels. He managed to down a couple of Golden Path Chargers.

"Shit! We're being bombarded by mortar fire, trampled by elephants, and shot at with machine guns. I can't bring in reinforcements until one or more of those things are taken care of. Find a way out Ajay, do what you can to make it easier for my soldiers and I."

"Okay Pagan. I'll see what I can do to level the playing field for you."

"Please and thank you."

Ajay moved from his cover and shot his rifle in order to pin down the Golden path. He managed to kill one before he got back into cover. Ajay remembered another door on the other side of the room. He didn't know where it led, but it was better than sitting around and twiddling his thumbs. Ajay fired his rifle again until it started clicking. He was out of ammo.

"I know that sound, he's out of ammo."

The Golden Path thought about rushing him, unfortunately they were wrong he wasn't out of ammo. He was out of assault rifle ammo. He sprayed his A2000 submachine gun and killed three Golden Path rebels. The rest of the Golden Path, which were just two rebels now, hid behind the brazier that Ajay used a while ago. Ajay smirked as he pulled out a surprise that he got off one of the dead rebels.

Ajay chucked a grenade after pulling its pin and the device fell right in front of the rebels.

"Shit." The two rebels cursed before all they saw was fire and shrapnel.

When all of the rebels were dead Ajay collected their ammo. He even managed to get some throwing knives and grenades from the dead rebels. His luck must have been changing because when he entered the next room there was a crate filled with ammunition. He filled up his ammo bag to capacity and even managed to fill up his explosives and munitions bag.

"I'm going to need to upgrade my stuff when I have the time. Something tells me I'm going to need all the ammo I can carry." Ajay mumbled.

Ajay moved through the temple. So far he hadn't come across any more Golden Path yet. The fighting outside must be drawing more of their attention. Ajay listened to the outside, and it sounded like the fighting was getting more and more intense. Ajay picked up his pace, until he had to slow down when he heard talking. Ajay crouched down and slowly walked towards an open door.

"Why is Pagan Min himself here? He's been a recluse for years and now he decides to join the fight?" one of the rebels asked.

"Didn't you hear he's here for Ajay."

"Yeah, but why is he here specifically for Ajay? What's so special about him?"

"He's the son of Mohan Ghale. Why do you think Sabal wants Ghale to join us? It would increase morale and give us an edge over The Royal Army."

"But, wouldn't it be more effective to kill Ghale instead? Pagan seems more interested in bringing him in alive."

"And make him a martyr? No. Besides, have you seen Ghale in action? For someone who was raised in America away from the war he's a proficient fighter."

"I don't know, something just doesn't add up."

"Well it's a good thing you fight instead of think. That's Sabal and Amita's job. And I really don't want to get between those two."

As the Golden Path were talking Ajay pulled out a block of C4. Quickly Ajay tossed the C4 into the room and before the rebels could process the white block thrown in front of them, Ajay flipped the switch. A huge explosion boomed, the rebels screamed in surprise and pain. Ajay heard something slide out of the door. It was a weapon, a modified revolver handgun. He picked it up and recognized it as a Mark IV handgun with red dot sight, on the barrel was scratched in "Sixer." Probably for the six shots it had in the chamber.

Ajay walked into the room and saw two rebels who had miraculously or unfortunately survived the explosion. Though they were both bleeding profusely and covering their ears in pain from the explosion. Ajay shot one rebel on the ground two times and the second rebel attempted to stand up, but Ajay shot him in the head. With the room cleared, Ajay stripped them of all of their ammo and stuff. Ajay even got a D2 shotgun off one of their bodies.

Ajay moved on. The halls were long and narrow and seemed to just go on. Soon, however, Ajay came across a set of small stairs that led to a hatch in the ceiling. Opening it led to outside. Ajay scanned his surroundings and realized that he was on top of the cliff that the monastery was built in. He turned to the sound of the fighting and saw the mortar that was giving Pagan trouble.

"Load another one! Sabal tells me to aim the mortar in these directions." There were three Golden Path manning the mortar. One of those rebels was a Heavy Gunner. Decked out in large body armor and wearing a riot shield helmet, the Golden Path rebel could definitely take a lot of damage and Ajay was glad he hadn't noticed him yet.

Ajay slowly walked up to the heavy, in his left was his Sixer handgun, and in the right was his D2 shotgun. The Heavy had not yet noticed Ajay. Ajay was close enough that he could poke the Heavy.

"Fire!" The heavy shouted and the mortar shell shot into the air. It exploded midflight sending fire and death down upon the Royal Army. The Golden Path were clear of the area, so the Royal Army to most of the brunt.

During the mortar shell's bombing Ajay had shot the Heavy in the head with his new shotgun. The shot was muffled by the mortar fire, so the other two didn't hear it. The Heavy's head was soon splattered all over his helmet's shield. Ajay then took his Sixer handgun and shot the two remaining rebels before they even knew what killed them.

"Pagan, I've taken care of the mortar. With it out of the way you can bring in reinforcements." Ajay said into his radio.

"Thank you, Ajay! I was starting to feel a little down with all that noisy rain. I just called in the reinforcements, they'll be here in a little bit. Now all we have to do is take care of those damn elephants. And I've gotten word that the Golden Path are even calling reinforcements, they'll be here before my guys arrive, so that'll be fun."

Ajay looked at his radio and then at the mortar. Ajay smiled.

"Pagan I think I have a plan. Call your men away from the elephants and find cover from them and the Golden Path reinforcements."

"What are you going to do?"

"Trust me."

Ajay watched from above the Royal Army retreating and bunkering down one of the lower monasteries. The Golden Path took that as a sign of fear and desperation and many of them chased after the Royal soldiers, including the elephant riders.

Ajay took his chance and carefully aimed the mortar at the elephant. When it was positioned perfectly, Ajay loaded a shell, covered his ears and fired. The shell exploded and killed the elephant, its rider, and a few Golden Path who were in the crosshairs.

"Who the fuck did that?!" Sabal screamed over the radio. Ajay smirked imagining Sabal's furious expression.

Ajay loaded another mortar shell and fired. Unfortunately, the elephant was out of the way of the attack, but it still killed a few Golden Path.

"Someone's highjacked the mortar. Someone get up there and take care of it!" Sabal shouted.

Suddenly, Ajay was hearing the song "We're not Gonna Take it" by Twisted Sister, playing around the area.

 **[Que playing "We're not Gonna Take it"]**

"Ajay! I figured you could use some music while you literally blow these bastards to hell. My men will stay out of the way until you need their assistance. I'll just sit on the side watching the fireworks!"

Ajay smirked as he literally rained fire on the Golden Path while listening to the "We're Not Gonna Take it." It was actually quite relaxing. He aimed another mortar and killed several Golden Path. The rebels were shooting at him, but Ajay had a height and cover advantage so most of their shots missed by huge margins. The next shot he aimed at the elephant, this time the pachyderm didn't evade the shot and the elephant and its passenger was reduced to chunks and ash.

Ajay saw blue vehicles approaching and knew they were Golden Path reinforcements. Ajay aimed the mortar ahead of the vehicles and fired. The mortar shell flew and exploded all over the vehicles. Some cars managed to slip through and get to the monastery, but Ajay wasn't worried. Ajay fired a mortar and took out more Golden path who were trying to take shelter in the monastery, but either the mortar fried them or Royal Army shot them.

"Would someone please deal with the bastard on the mortar already!?" Sabal shouted at the top of his lungs. Ajay heard people behind him and saw Golden Path rebels coming out of the hatch he came through. Ajay hid behind cover and then popped out just as quickly and fired with his shotgun.

"Pagan, can you deal with the ground forces, I'm a little occupied right now." Ajay took out Sixer and head shot a couple of Berserkers.

"No problem, my boy. Just let us know when you're going to use that mortar again."

While the Royal Army fought down below, Ajay fired his shotgun again on a rebel that was trying to get in close, but with a shotgun, that was a terrible idea. Ajay reloaded and took out Sixer and fired on some Golden Path Defenders. They had better armor, so they took more shots in order to kill. The D2 had only to shells and the Sixer needed six bullets. Limited ammo and Ajay could only reload so fast. A Golden Path suddenly lobbed a grenade at him and Ajay had to get out of the way of the blast. Ajay jumped over some cover, but got hit by some shrapnel. A Golden Path Charger suddenly ran at him with a knife, Ajay didn't have his guns reloaded, so he thought fast and threw a throwing knife at the man's head. Ajay took out two more knives and threw them with amazing proficiency. Even though the Golden Path were shooting at him, the bullets only grazed him, and with astounding speed the knives buried themselves in the necks and heads of serval Golden path . . . until Ajay ran out.

"Shit." Ajay was tackled by a Golden Path Beheader. The Beheader had two knives in his hands and was repeatedly and madly trying to stab at Ajay's face. Ajay was quickly moving his head and blocking with his arms before he got his face stabbed off.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" He screamed. The Beheader raised both blades and swung down heavily at Ajay. Ajay quickly grabbed the Beheaders arms and tried to push him off. The Beheader wouldn't stop screaming "die" with a crazy look in his eyes. Ajay was struggling, the blades were getting closer and closer. Ajay decided to go for broke. He used the Beheaders momentum against him. The blades came down, but Ajay spread his arms so the blades were stabbed into the ground by his head. Then Ajay headbutt the Beheader. The Beheader fell back and Ajay quickly grabbed his kukri and repeatedly stabbed the dazed Beheader in the chest multiple times. Ajay roared as he kept stabbing the rebel even though he died on the first stab. Ajay stopped and breathed in and out heavily. Blood and adrenaline were pumping through him so fast he could hear it.

Remembering what he was doing before, Ajay got up and examined the battlefield. The Royal Army Reinforcements had arrived, but so had another wave of Golden path. And this time the Golden Path brought three elephants. Thankfully, however, the Golden Path were very close to each other.

Ajay activated his radio. "Pagan get your men clear. The Golden Path are in a perfect position. I'm about to fire." Ajay warned as he prepared and aligned his shot.

"Thanks for the heads up Ajay!"

Ajay watched the Royal Army retreat. He smirked when they were clear and the Golden Path were open.

"Burn in hell, you bastards." The shell was launched and most of the Golden Path, including the three elephants, were bathed in explosions. Ajay watched as most of the rebels were blown to bits, what was left tried looking for shelter or cover, but were shot at from a distance by the Royal Army. This battle was over.

"Aaaaahhhhhh!" Ajay turned around just in time to see Sabal charge at him with a raised kukri. Ajay brought out his own kukri and managed to block the strike.

Sabal practically got in Ajay's face with outrage. "So this is what you have chosen? You side with PAGAN!? I don't know what's worse: the fact that you have indeed turned your back on Kyrat or the fact that Amita was actually right about you. Your father would be ashamed by you actions."

Ajay managed to push Sabal off, but the rebel leader came back again. Ajay blocked his strike.

"Good. That means I'm doing something right." Ajay said

"What?!" Sabal roared with outrage.

"Pagan may not be perfect and he is definitely an evil bastard, but he's probably the closest thing I have to family. And as I said before: family is everything."

With that, the two kyrati men engaged in a blade fight. Ajay pushed Sabal off again and swung his blade across Sabal's gut. Sabal jumped back to avoid the slash and then thrusted his kukri at Ajay's face. Ajay managed to swat the blade away with his own and then crouched down to sweep Sabal's feet. Sabal fell to the ground and Ajay tried to stab his face with his kukri. Sabal rolled out of the way and narrowly got killed three times. On the fourth strike Sabal slashed at Ajay's face forcing Ajay to reel back. Sabal managed to get back to his feet and went for a stab to Ajay's gut. Ajay deflected the stab and the two traded blows for a few seconds. When Ajay saw an opening, he punched Sabal in the face. From the punch, Sabal spun around and slashed at Ajay's chest. Ajay's coat got cut across, but physically did not take damage. Sabal then raised his blade and swung downwards and Ajay swung sideways, aiming for Sabal's waist. Both fighters grabbed each other's arm, stopping both attacks and setting them in a stalemate. The two struggled before both their stubbornness got the better of them and they head-butted each other. The two dropped their blades and stumbled back in pain. Ajay recovered first and saw a disoriented Sabal reaching for a gun. No time to grab for his blade, Ajay rushed Sabal and managed to get out of range of the gun. The two struggled for the gun. Sabal accidentally fired the gun several times into the air as the two wrestled. Ajay managed to get the upper hand and tried to force Sabal's gun to aim at Sabal's head. Sabal grew worried as the gun's barrel drew dangerously close to his head. Ajay was proving to be stronger and with the shaky wrestle match the gun could go off any second. The gun shook as Ajay kept forcing it to aim at Sabal. Suddenly, the gun went off, but it only managed to cut Sabal's head. The gun was dropped and Ajay tackled Sabal to the ground. Ajay got on top of Sabal and began to punch the rebel leader in the face. Sabal took many punches, he was starting to bleed from the nose and bruises were scattered all over his face. Finally, Sabal managed to swing his arm and punch Ajay in the face, knocking him off. Ajay saw his kukri on the ground and quickly crawled to it. He managed to grab his blade. He heard Sabal running at him and quickly turned around to swing his blade. Sabal, however, saw the attack coming and jammed his kukri into Ajay's blade arm. Ajay screamed in pain and dropped his kukri. Sabal then punched Ajay again and sent him face-first into the ground. Ajay breathed heavily as his head rang. He turned his head to the right and saw Sabal's foot impact with his face. Now in a complete daze, Ajay was sprawled on the ground. Ajay breathed heavily as he watched Sabal pick up his blade and then sat on top of him.

"I truly wish it would not have come to this brother, but you have given me no choice. For the crimes of treason, I sentence you, Ajay Ghale, to death. Any last words before I send your soul straight to Yalung's jaws?"

Ajay was silent for a few seconds before he spat on Sabal's jacket. Sabal scowled and placed both hands on the kukri before raising it. Sabal then thrust down, but with the last bit of strength, Ajay grabbed Sabal's arms, stopping the blade just centimeters from Ajay's heart. The two struggled for few seconds, with Sabal gaining the upper hand, until they heard a helicopter in the distance.

"Hello!"

Sabal looked up and then got shot in the shoulder making him fall off of Ajay. Ajay looked to see Pagan flying a gyrocopter and a handgun raised.

"Damn it. Damn it!" Sabal screamed in fury. He threw his kukri at Pagan which missed significantly. Sabal started to run while Pagan shot at him with his gun. All the shots missed and Sabal managed to run into the forest.

Ajay pulled out the kukri in his arm just as Pagan landed the copter and ran to Ajay.

"Ajay? Ajay can you hear me? I need a medic over here stat!" Pagan yelled into the radio.

Everything went black and Ajay soon passed out from the exhaustion and pain.

* * *

 **Alright so Ajay lost to Sabal, but still managed to get saved by the Royal Army. Don't worry, Ajay just needs a little time to be able to beat Sabal. Let me know through a review how I did on the fight scenes. Was it good? Bad? Tell me! _  
_**


	6. Helping Out 2: New friends

**I would like to apologize to my readers for not updating this story for so long. Truly, really sorry, but I was excited to work on my DA fic and this story was more for helping me get into writing these on here. Never the less, you'll be happy to know that, as an apology, this is a twofer! So you guys get two chapter today and I hope you enjoy them!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 **Helping Out 2: New friends**

 _Success doesn't come to you, you go to it. – Marva Collins_

Ajay was having a strange dream. He dreamt of a tiger and an elephant battling one another. In their last clash they both exploded into colored smoke. The smoke drifted into the wind and traveled through the snowy Himalayan Mountains. Below was the land of Kyrat, but instead of lush green forest and serene settings, it was on fire. Everything in Kyrat was burning to cinders. The colored smoke then gathered itself and took the forms of masked demons. The demons did battle with ancient Kyrat warriors that were formed from the smoky remains of Kyrat, but every time the demons clashed with the warriors, both turned into smoke. The smoke drifted off into the distance which revealed an ape-like beast climbing the side of the mountain and roaring.

Ajay woke up and found himself in an infirmary. What the heck was that dream about?

"Awake now sunshine? Bad dreams?" Ajay turned to see Pagan Min sitting by his bedside. The Euro-Asian man had a playful smirk on his face. "Gave us quite the scare there for a while. You really racked up a number of wounds there . . . and the body count."

"What happened? Where am I?" Ajay asked still a bit disoriented, probably from the drugs, and a bit in pain.

"Why you're in the infirmary, Ajay my boy. Where everyone goes when they've bitten one too many bullets. How are you feeling? Like crap I imagine?"

Ajay looked down at himself and saw he had a number of bruises all over his chest, which meant he must've had major internal bleeding and several bandages on his arms. Not to mention his face hurt like it was hit by a sledgehammer.

"Yeah, definitely feel like crap." Ajay said.

"Not surprising, since you had enough holes in you to mistake you for Swiss cheese." Pagan joked. Then suddenly Pagan sticked him with a syringe.

"Ah! What was that?" Ajay questioned as he rubbed his shoulder in pain.

"A special medicine made by Yuma and Noore's people. They make some wonderful things with the plants of this country."

Suddenly all the pain Ajay was feeling felt like it was being lifted to the point of nonexistent. Ajay got off the bed and moved the joints of his body and felt no pain whatsoever.

"What is that stuff?" Ajay asked as he eyed the wonder drug.

"Not sure, but it's pretty simple to make. I'll give you the recipe later. Right now answer my question: do you want some payback on the Golden Path? Especially against Amita and Sabal?"

Ajay looked at Pagan, momentarily stunned by the question. When he collected his thoughts and answered. "Yes. Since the Golden Path made me feel like crap, I want to make them feel like hell."

Pagan smiled a smile that the devil would be envious of.

"Well then Ajay, follow me."

Ajay did as he was told and followed the mad King. When they exited the infirmary Ajay realized they were back in the Royal Palace.

As they were walking Pagan spoke up. "I never did give you a tour of my Palace. Why don't I show you my favorite spots. Other than Lakshmana's and Ishwari's resting place of course." Ajay nodded his head and kept following Pagan.

Walking through a few hallways, Pagan stopped in front of a pair of large wooden doors. Pagan pushed the doors open revealing the most lavish room Ajay had ever been in. The furniture was decorated in Kyrati style, but was balanced with the look of an American apartment, adding to the feng shui of the place. There was a couch, a queen-sized bed, a dining table, and a 50 inch flat-screen TV, complete with all the new toys including an Xbox One. The room was so spacious Ajay could fit up to probably twenty people in here. There were so many vibrant colors in the room that it looked very festive.

"Is this you room, Pagan?" Ajay asked amazed.

Pagan laughed. "No no no Ajay. This is your room."

"What!?"

"Yes of course! I meant to show you this place sooner, but you started scampering off and fighting a war all on your own, so I never got the chance. I know you usually stay outdoors or in one of the Army's safehouses, but it's always nice to come back to a place that's all your own and put your feet up."

Amazed, Ajay walked through his room examining every inch of the place. On the walls were beautiful paintings. Some were of a beautiful woman, some were of gods, and some were just intricate patterns of various and vibrant colors.

"What are these?"

"Thangka paintings. Beautiful works of art, many of the natives make them. I've had a few commissioned for myself. Your mother was actually quite the art lover. She made her own paintings. These are actually the ones she made before she . . . left." Pagan answered.

Ajay was a quite surprised. He didn't know his mother was an artist. She must have stopped when they moved to the United States. Ajay couldn't help but feel even sadder for his mother and what she gave up.

Feeling the mood become a bit dower, Pagan motioned for Ajay to follow him again. The two stopped in front of a pair of glass doors and opened them. Ajay was once again blown away by the view. The Palace sat on the highest mountain in all of Kyrat and that's what he could see. ALL of Kyrat. It was mostly the North, but he could see some of the South as well. It was the most impressive scene Ajay had ever witnessed.

"It's beautiful." Ajay breathed.

"Yes it is. Though the view became less beautiful when Lakshmana died and you mother left. Like I said Ajay this country is a tiger, majestic and dangerous. But with you here it's beautiful to me again. This room was your mother's when we started our relationship and now it's yours. I hope you feel as close to her in here as I do."

Ajay finally figured out why it felt so warm and welcoming in the room. This room was his mother's and it felt like his mother was in here with him.

Ajay headed back inside, but before he headed for the door, he saw something on the bed that caught his attention. In between the silk sheets and the many soft pillows, was a plushy of a honey badger. Ajay slowly reached out and picked it up.

"I remember this." Short blurry memories went through his head of the little toy. He sort of remembered playing with it. "Ray-Ray." Ajay finally recalled. That's what he named it.

"You're mother made that for you." Pagan came up behind him. "I distinctly remember you never putting that little badger down. You once pretended it was kissing my face . . . or eating my face. It was a long time ago, so it's a bit fuzzy." Pagan chuckled.

"You kept it all this time?" Ajay asked amazed.

"Of course. I never got rid of anything that belonged to Ishwari and you. I left it here, hoping one day I could reunite you with your old friend." With that Pagan made for the door. Ajay gently put Ray-Ray back on the bed. He smiled warmly at the toy before following Pagan out of the room.

They had walked down several stairs and saw a large vault. Pagan ordered his men who were guarding it to open the vault. Ajay noticed that these guys were not Kyrati, so that must mean they were soldiers Pagan hired from outside. Not surprising, Pagan thought most of his men were incompetent so of course he'd hire outside help.

The vault opened and it revealed a giant treasure trove. Ajay could not help but drop his jaw and stare wide-eyed. Everywhere Ajay looked he saw gold and where there wasn't gold there was jewels of almost every shape and color. There were golden bricks, coins, and statues of gods, elephants, tigers, there were jewels ranging from emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and rubies. There were artifacts, ranging from statues, to weapons, to scrolls, which looked so ancient that Ajay was afraid they'd crumble into dust if he touched them.

"I wanted to show you this place first as a thank you for your help on the monastery. You have no idea how long we've been trying to claim that place and take all the goodies inside. These people have so many riches they could use to make their lives and country better, but they squander it by keeping their treasures hidden away in their temples. It's such a waist! At least I put good use to them and whatever I don't have a use for I melt down and have it turned into something useful." Pagan made his way out of the vault, but first he closed Ajay's mouth.

Snapped out of his stupor, Ajay followed Pagan again, but took one last look at the treasures his step-father had taken over the years before following him again.

"You'll definitely love this next part, Ajay. In all honesty I'm surprised I didn't show you sooner. Oh well." They left the basement and came to another room: an Armory.

When they walked in, Ajay stopped completely in his tracks and his mouth hung open once again.

Pagan chuckled. "Are you going to keep doing that every time I show you a different part of my home?"

Ajay had never seen so many different kinds of weapons in one place before. There were guns of different varieties that lined the walls, ammo crates wherever he looked, and racks of heavy ordinances. Ajay picked up an assault rifle and examined it.

"Unfortunately Ajay I'll need time to plan out a retaliation attack on the Golden Path. I'll discuss it with my strategists for a while and that'll be very boring. So why don't you pick up whatever guns your little heart desires and go to town. Have some fun, meet some ladies, battle a tiger! And I'll call you when everything's ready."

Ajay examined the gun. Making it click as he examined the barrel, trigger, and stock. "Alright. I think I can find something to do to pass the time. There's no shortage of time wasters in this country."

"Ha! Too true, Ajay my boy." Pagan noticed how Ajay handled the gun and couldn't help but voice a question he actually had for some time. "Ajay where did you learn to handle firearms?" Ajay lowered the gun and stared at Pagan. "Most people don't even know how to hold a gun let alone use one. Did you have some military training?" Pagan found it odd how accustomed Ajay was to killing and using weapons. The United States may have the highest crime rating in the world, but it still did not encourage such things, unlike Kyrat.

Ajay shook his head no. "No. I actually had a neighbor. A grandfather and grandson. The grandfather was a World War Two veteran and the grandson was former Green Beret. They liked guns. One day I saw them practicing and they asked me if I wanted to try it. I was a natural they said. They taught me the ropes. I could use assault rifles, shotguns, submachine guns, pistols, sniper rifles, and a couple of times they even let me try out some grenades and a rocket launcher."

Pagan was shocked. Leave it to the gun lovers of America to teach a kid how to use a gun for fun.

"How did your mother react to this?"

"She wasn't exactly happy about it. But she saw how excited I was to learn about such things and she begrudgingly allowed me to keep practicing. She made me sign up for a trapshooting team just so that I would learn a respect for guns."

That made sense to Pagan. "What about your knife play? You seem to be quite skilled with a kukri."

Ajay looked down in shame. "It's not a time I am proud of. I was a teenager . . . I joined a gang—and I was very stupid. Let's just leave it at that."

Pagan nodded in understanding and let the topic slide.

With his curiosity about Ajay's natural skills sated Pagan made his leave. "Take whatever weapons you want my boy and go have yourself some fun. I'll let you know when we're ready for the assault."

"Thanks Pagan."

Ajay strapped on four weapon holsters. He loaded up his Sixer pistol, a D2 shotgun, a red recurve bow with a red dot sight attachment, and an MP34 assault rifle.

Ajay turned around when he heard someone walk in. He thought it was Pagan at first, but was proven wrong when he saw Yuma Lao instead. The second in command had her arms crossed and was glaring at him. But not glaring like she was trying to burn a hole through his head, but glaring like she was trying to figure something out and couldn't.

"Can I help you?" Ajay asked, a little bit nervous by the pinkette staring at him. He had only met the Asian woman once and they honestly didn't say much to each other, like at all.

She walked up to him and spoke. "You've changed him."

Ajay didn't really know what she was talking about.

Yuma realized this and clarified. "Pagan. Before you came here he rarely left the Palace. For years he remained a recluse, perfectly content with wallowing in his misery over the loss of Ishwari and letting his Army do all the work." Yuma paused for a moment and spoke up. "When you came here, all that changed. I can't remember the last time he led an assault himself. The last time he picked up a gun and fought for what he wanted. It's like I'm seeing the old Pagan from all those years ago." Yuma then looked deeply into Ajay's eyes. "And you're almost just like Pagan when he was younger. Independent, strong, smart, skilled . . . powerful." Ajay wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Yuma's eyes become almost . . . dreamy, as she looked at him. Before he could wonder what was going on in the Asian woman's head, she kept speaking. "I won't lie Ghale. I didn't like your mother, when she first showed up in Pagan's life. She made him weak and pathetic." Ajay glared and his hand itched the handle of his Sixer pistol. "When I heard you were coming I actually thought you would make him worse . . . but you made him better instead. I haven't seen that fire in his eyes in years and truthfully, I thought it was out permanently. I thought Pagan was forever broken." Yuma bowed respectively to Ajay. "Thank you for proving me wrong." She then made her way toward the exit of the armory.

"It wasn't my mother that broke him." Ajay interrupted. Yuma stopped dead in her tracks, but did not turn around. "My father was the one that broke him, but not in the way it sounds. Ask about my mother's final resting place. Ask him about Lakshmana. If you two were as close as I think, then he'll most likely tell you what happened. Just ask."

Yuma walked to the door, but she stopped in the middle of the exit and turned her head to look at Ajay again. "I may not have liked Ishwari, Ajay but I definitely don't dislike you. I look forward to seeing what you do." She licked her lips hungrily and then left.

"What was that about?" Ajay mumbled, confused by the woman's actions.

Ajay shook his thoughts off and headed out. Perhaps he could take a few outposts to pass the time?

. . .

Ajay pulled back his arrow, lined up his shot and fired. The arrow found its mark: the ropes to a wooden cage. A bear roared and charged out of its confines and started mauling the Golden Path to death. Ajay put his bow away a quietly entered the outpost, while the Golden Path were busy. Ajay hid behind some crates while the Golden Path tried not to get eaten. The Golden Path managed to kill the bear, but all that was left were two tired and scared rebels. Ajay quietly snuck up to the closest one and impaled the rebel with his blade. Then Ajay took the rebel's knife and threw it at the last rebel's head.

All was clear and Ajay called in reinforcements to take the outpost. When the soldiers arrived Ajay was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Hey Ajay!" Nisha waved hello.

"Hey, Nisha. It's good to see you again."

"I see you've been keeping busy. Not long ago you were a kidnappey of the Golden Path, now you're taking Outposts like a boss." Nisha smirked.

Ajay just shrugged. "Well, I don't let things keep me down for too long."

"So I see. So, what are you gonna do now? Hunt down some Golden Path? Reclaim another outpost? Save some hostages?"

"Actually, I'm going hunting. Mr. Chiffon wants me to go after some wild dhole named: Tenzin."

"Wait, THE Tenzin? That wild mutt that's been causing a lot of problems?" she asked.

"Yeah? Mr. Chiffon wants its fur for his fashion show."

"Can I come with? I'm an excellent shot." Nisha asked excitedly.

Ajay looked at the Kyrati woman and then looked at the bow on her back.

"Sure, why not. But, I want the killing shot."

"No problem. Tenzin always hunts in a pack, so there'll be plenty for me."

"Well, let's go then."

. . .

"So what makes this dhole so dangerous that he gets a name like Tenzin?" Ajay asked. He read up on Tenzin before going on a hunt. Unfortunately, Pagan's Guide Book of Kyrat didn't really say much on Tenzin, other than he was a wild dog to be put down.

"Other than his unique colored fur?" Nisha chuckled. "I'm sure you've already encountered several packs of dholes? There are always four in the pack, with one that is differently colored from the rest that is leading them?"

Ajay nodded. During his travels through the forests of Kyrat Ajay had come across several packs of dhole. They were a pain in the ass. Everywhere Ajay went there would be a pack. Every time Ajay turned around there was a pack. One time while scouting an outpost, he was ambushed by a pack of dholes. Ajay panicked and shot them, alerting the outpost of his presence, forcing Ajay to shoot his way to victory.

"Well then you know while most packs will attack anyone, they usually remain in the forest. However, Tenzin is vicious and clever. He takes his pack and attacks people in their own homes. Tenzin is so clever he even knows how to open doors. Some people think Tenzin was trained to do this, but no one knows by whom, since Tenzin attacks civilians, Golden Path, and Royal Army."

That made Ajay raise his eyebrow in confusion. Even in the States they had no wild dogs that could do that.

The two made it to the hunting site, which was a house that was completely torn apart.

"Yep, this is Tenzin's work alright." Nisha said as she examined the bodies inside the house. The people were mauled to death, by many, many bite marks.

"Are these dogs rabid?" Ajay asked as he looked at the mangled bodies.

"Who knows? I wouldn't be surprised if they were." Suddenly Nisha raised her fist in a halt motion. "I hear something."

The area soon became filled with the sounds of barking and growls. The two kyratis took out their weapons and prepared for a literal dog fight.

 **A few minutes later**

Both Ajay and Nisha breathed heavily as they tried to catch their breath. The house was now filled with pools of blood, riddled with bullets and arrows, and fresh dhole corpses, including Tenzin's body.

When Ajay caught his breath he began to skin Tenzin. The mutt was the most vicious of them all. No matter how many arrows Ajay put into the hound, it would still come at him. Baring its teeth and slashing its claws, even after putting an arrow through its eye. Ajay was really hoping that the next animals Chiffon wanted him to find would not be so . . . unruly.

When he was done skinning Tenzin, Ajay looked behind him to see Nisha skinning the rest of the pack in a quick, neat, and professional manner. Ajay didn't have to be a genius to know that she had done this many times.

"I'm gonna make a killing off these skins." Nisha said excitedly.

"The merchants around here do seem to pay a lot for almost anything." Ajay added offhandedly. "I once sold a pair of aviators, a handkerchief, and a condom to a wandering merchant and I got quite an amount of money for them. Guy didn't even bother to barter. I presented them, offered and he took them, no strings attached."

Nisha chuckled, while wiping her bloodied hands on a nearby rag. "Yeah, around these parts you can buy and sell almost anything. From high-priced stuff to junk you find in your pockets. Even pawn shops in America aren't so lax."

Ajay looked strangely at the Kyrati huntress. Nisha was vastly different compared to most people he had met in Kyrat. She was definitely native, but she spoke like an American at times. She definitely had the rough and rude exterior that most stereotyped of America. Very odd from someone born in Kyrat.

"What?" Nisha noticed his inquisitive stare.

"You're not like most people I've met in this country."

"Huh? Oh! You mean the way I talk and my mannerisms. Yeah, I know it's different, most people in my country are put off by it, but whatever."

"Why are you like that?"

"Got a problem with it?" Nisha challenged as she put her hands on her hips. "Expect me to be all obedient and docile like the men of this country think a woman should be all the time?"

"No. No. It's just that . . . I don't know how you got like this." Ajay defended quickly.

That seemed to calm Nisha a little. "King Min sometimes has out of country business trips. Most times he goes to America. I've been with the Royal Army for a long time, so I've gone on many trips. The United States are great! So much diversity, so many things to see! It's not perfect, but it's a paradise compared to this place."

Ajay had to admit, he was shot at less in the States then here in Kyrat. Also, there were no honey badgers to chew on him too.

"Anyway, I visited America enough times to pick up a bit of their dialect and speech. Most people in my country can't even believe I'm native because of it, but I like the way I talk. Makes me different from all the other posers in this country."

"Not a patriot of Kyrat?" Ajay asked.

"Of course I'm a patriot! I love my country. It's a beautiful place, despite its dangers. That doesn't mean I don't see the problems it has. Pagan Min is an evil bastard, but at least he's bringing us out of the dark ages. Amita may be trying to do that too, but she's going about it the wrong way. If she were in charge, it would be worse than Pagan. And Sabal is a zealous cunt! He'd rather see me work in the kitchen or raising babies then fight. I'll stick with my current King, thank you very much. And I know many other people who think the same thing."

Ajay just stared at the Huntress. There it was again. Devotion to Pagan Min despite him being a terrible person. It wasn't just civilians who thought this, apparently his own soldiers did too if Nisha was any indication. Maybe he was looking at this too closely. Maybe everything wasn't as black and white as he was expecting. Maybe everything was just a simple grey. Sabal, Amita, and Pagan, were all leaders who were hated and liked equally. All three had their advantages and disadvantages, their pros and cons. In the end, it didn't matter what side was right or wrong, it only mattered what side you **wanted** to be on.

Suddenly, Nisha's radio came to life and a thick, deep Russian accent came over it.

"Nisha! Are you there?"

Nisha quickly grabbed her radio and answered. "Boris, I'm here. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I could just use a little help is all."

Nisha smirked. "Don't worry Boris. I'll be there in a bit to save your giant ass."

The man Boris sent his coordinates over the radio before signing off.

"Who was that?" Ajay asked.

"Boris Ivankov. He's one of the Royal Guards. One of King Min's best."

"You need any help?"

"Hmm, why not? Boris loves meeting new people . . . and killing them. But he might not do that last part. Come on, Ajay."

And with that the two left the house, leaving behind the carcasses of the dead dholes. It took half an hour to reach their destination. The moment Ajay laid eyes on Boris he was shocked to see the largest man he had ever seen in his entire life.

Standing at 6'8, with bulging muscles probably as hard as stone, a bald head, sporting a black chin curtain beard, and brown eyes. He was wearing the Heavy Gunner outfit, comprised of thick bulletproof armor and padding, minus the sleeves and the riot helmet, which was removed.

"Nisha, who is this?" Boris said in a deep baritone voice as he motioned to Ajay.

"This is Ajay Ghale, Boris. King Min's special guest." Nisha answered.

Boris gave him and appraising look that made Ajay a bit uncomfortable, but the big man then extended his arm out for a handshake.

"I've heard much about you, Mr. Ghale. Most good. For the Royal Army at least. Not so much for Golden Path, da?" Boris laughed at his own little joke.

Ajay chuckled awkwardly while shaking the giant man's hand. Ajay could feel the bones in his hand cracking under the man's strength and felt great relief when Boris let him go.

"So what'cha call us for Boris?" Nisha asked.

The big Russian man motioned them to follow him.

"I got word that the Golden Path had raided another village and took every child in it to one of their camps."

"Sons of bitches. I know the war is bad, but to involve children . . . it's just low and sick!" Nisha clenched her fists in rage.

"Pagan told me that the Golden Path has child soldiers in its ranks." Ajay spoke up.

"Da. The youngest they manage to get is six, with the oldest being thirteen or sixteen. With the war being dragged on for so long the Golden Path gets desperate. When it can't take children from their own followers it takes children from Royal Army territories or villages that don't want to be involved." Boris answered grimly.

"For people that want to save their own country, they sure are doing a good job of damning it instead." Ajay said.

"It's Amita's idea mostly, so it's her people who mostly collect child soldiers. Sabal's not that big of a supporter, but he doesn't argue with the results."

"It's horrible. I had to put down a few myself. Pagan may be a despicable man, but he's never resorted to such tactics as using children! In fact, he's started campaigns to rid Kyrat of the use of child soldiers." Nisha said fervently.

Boris shrugged indifferently at Nisha's words. "I don't think it's fully an altruistic thing, Nisha. I've worked for Min for years. He's likely only doing that to weaken the Golden Path. To take away one of their weapons."

Ajay was actually wondering if it had something to do with Lakshmana. Having a child of your own can definitely have a changing effect on your view of things, but he couldn't deny either Boris or Nisha's views either.

"Regardless of Pagan's reasons, we still have to rescue those kids." Ajay said.

"Agreed. The Golden Path is holding the children at a nearby camp, but I can't just go in guns blazing. They could or I could end up hurting the children during the assault. That's why I called Nisha. I need you two to clear the Golden Path out, secure the kids, then we get them home."

Ajay and Nisha nodded their heads in understanding. The Golden path camp was just down a ways. Boris told them to call him once the area and the kids were secure. So Ajay and Nisha trekked through the forest until they reached a small area that had three buildings.

Ajay took out his camera and zoomed in on the Golden path. There were a few gunners, but Ajay was more worried about the hunters . . . and the three tigers they had by their side.

"Shit! It's Amita's Tiger Squad." Nisha cursed as she bit her thumbnail.

"Tiger Squad?" Ajay asked confused.

"They're a group of Amita's elite soldiers. Hunters who have tamed wild tigers, they specialize in stealth, subterfuge, and assassination. The Tiger Squad is capable of liberating outposts without ever tripping an alarm or alerting anyone to their presence."

"A group within a faction, within a faction. It's a miracle the Golden Path has lasted as long as they have. Maybe their gods are blessing them." Ajay murmured that last part under his breath. "So if Amita has an elite group under her, then what about Sabal?"

Nisha looked at Ajay. "You've met them already haven't you? When you were kidnapped and brought to the monastery."

Ajay thought back to his time visiting the ancient sight. "You mean the elephants?"

"Yes. That is Sabal's Elephant Brigade. His group is much more forceful and powerful because they use elephants. A single brigadier can take down an entire outpost in minutes and then have enough strength to destroy the reinforcements. Sabal rarely uses them because of how sacred the elephants are and places them in locations that have an importance to the traditions of Kyrat."

Amita utilizes tigers, while Sabal commanded elephants. Ajay found something interesting about that match up. From what he had heard and seen of the two, Amita was ferocious and elegant, like that of a Bengal tiger and Sabal was strong and majestic, like that of an ancient elephant. The fact those two used animals that could be described as their counterparts was somewhat funny.

"We're going to have to be extra careful here, Ajay." Nisha whispered. She drew on her bow and motioned Ajay to split up.

Ajay nodded and the two went their separate ways. Ajay made his way to some bushes a ways away from the Golden Path. He saw up on a roof a sniper. Ajay drew his bow back and launched an arrow right into the sniper's head. With the bird's eye out, Ajay went into the camp. He had to be careful, if the tigers got his sent, the whole camp would be alerted to his presence.

Ajay entered the house and saw two kids crying in the corner. They gasped and back up when they saw him. Ajay smiled gently and motioned them to be quiet. Realizing he was there to save them, the kids stayed quiet. Ajay quietly walked upstairs where there were two Golden Path rebels. Both were staring out of the windows.

Ajay grabbed his kukri and took out one throwing knife. He had to time this right. Ajay took aim with the throwing knife and made it soar into farther rebel's neck. The rebel made a choking sound causing the nearest rebel to turn in surprise, leaving his back open to Ghale's blade.

As he slowly put the dying rebel down, Ajay looked out the window to make sure his position wasn't compromised. The hunters were still completely unaware. Good.

With the hunters still oblivious, Ajay looked at his surroundings and saw a few rebels dead on the other side of the area. It was Nisha, she was hiding behind one of the shacks. She dealt with her rebels; now all that was left were the hunters.

This was going to be difficult as hunters were already deadly, but partnered with ferocious tigers just added to the danger and risk. Out of the corner of his eye, Ajay saw Nisha waving her arms. She was trying to tell him something. Ajay pulled out his camera to get a better view. Something was in her hand. A grenade. She was doing throwing motions in the direction of the hunters. Then she pointed at him and then repeated the motion. Ajay understood immediately. The hunters were still together. They were quite close to each other. They could be taken out in one fell swoop.

Ajay pulled out a grenade and nodded at Nisha. Ajay held up three fingers and counted down. One. Two. Three! Ajay took out the pin and tossed the grenade at the hunters. Nisha did the same. The two grenades bounced a couple of times and before the hunters and tigers could realize what killed them, they were engulfed in fire and shrapnel.

Ajay and Nisha met up where the hunters used to be. Now all that was left were chunks of meet and scorch marks.

"That was awesome!" Nisha shouted

"I have to admit, that was kinda cool." Ajay mumbled.

Nisha's smile faded and her face scrunched into confusion. "Wait a minute. Something's wrong here." The huntress kneeled down to get a closer look at their handiwork.

"What is it?" Ajay asked.

"There were three hunters and three tigers right?"

"Yeah?"

"I count three hunters and **two** tigers." Nisha said forebodingly.

Suddenly the two heard a growl coming behind them. The slowly turned their heads to see one of the tiger's growling at them.

"Shit! It must have wandered from the group a bit." Nisha deduced nervously

The tiger was very close. By the time they would unsheathe their weapons the tiger would already have its claws and teeth in one of them.

The tiger growled, it was getting ready to pounce on them. It roared and jumped at them, but in mid-lunge a truck rammed right into it. With a loud bam, followed by a sickening crack, and then a wet splat, the tiger soared ten feet from Ajay and Nisha and landed in a bloody heap.

The passenger side of the truck opened revealing it to be Boris. The Russian had a questioning look on his face.

"Did I hit something?" He asked obliviously.

"Holy shit, Boris! You saved our hides there." Nisha said relieved.

Boris looked confused for a moment before he looked over the hood of his truck and saw the dead tiger.

"Heh, just doing my job. Now go do your job and get those kids!"

Nisha gave a mock salute and Ajay followed suit.

Boris' truck was huge. Ajay could see a lot of armor modification put all over it. Probably to protect whoever would be riding in the back. On the grill of the truck was a steel battering ram that was obviously there for extra damage.

They loaded a total of six kids onto the truck. Nisha remained inside the truck to comfort kids, while Boris drove. Boris approached Ajay and handed him a M-79 Grenade Launcher.

"Get on top of the truck. I heard the Golden Path over the radio, so we may have to fight our way through. Use that to clear the way and protect the truck"

"You have the most heavily armored truck I've seen in this country so far. It looks well protected." Ajay said.

"You want to risk that with children?" Boris questioned.

"Fair enough."

Ajay hopped up onto the rough of the truck and kneeled down to better protect himself. Boris honked the horn signaling their leaving.

A few minutes would pass until they reached the first road block. Two vehicles were blocking the road, with Golden Path spread all over. Ajay fired his grenade launcher, hitting the trucks and several rebels. It was difficult to aim at first, but Ajay adjusted to the M-79 fast enough. Ajay fired a few more rounds before all the Golden Path finally died.

"Coming through!" Boris stepped on it. The truck accelerated plowing through the two trucks and toppling them.

Continuing on their route, Ajay and Boris would come across more rebels. Ajay would either blow them away or Boris would run them over.

They were almost to the final checkpoint. No Golden path had gotten in their way, but just as it looked like they were in the clear, machinegun fire bombarded the truck. The truck skidded to a halt and both Ajay and Boris got down. Up on a hill was a rebel with a machinegun behind a small wall of sacks.

The truck was taking heavy damage. It could take the damage, but not indefinitely. Ajay took a risk and popped out of cover. He fired one grenade, which didn't hit the target. Ajay then hid back into cover before popping out a second time and firing. The shot was closer, but no dice. Gritting his teeth, Ajay got out of cover one last time and this time he tried to aim. Bullets whizzed past him, cutting him on the cheek, brow, and his clothes. With a greatly focused shot, the grenade flew and hit the rebel, obliterating him and the machinegun.

Ajay breathed a sigh of relief and injected himself with a pain-killer. Before he could relax and catch his breath he heard Boris curse.

"Damnit, the truck took a lot of damage! We're sitting ducks out here!" Boris yelled. The truck was indeed damaged. Bullet holes were everywhere and the engine was steaming.

Ajay quickly got off of the truck and popped the hood. "Boris, cover me while I fix the engine." Ajay said.

"How are you going to fix it?" Boris asked. Ajay answered him by pulling out a blowtorch from his bag. "What's a blowtorch gonna do?!" Boris asked incredulously.

"Just watch out for any Golden Path!"

Boris grumbled, but did as Ajay commanded. Boris got out of the truck and watched his surrounding as he waited for Ajay to finish his repairs. Suddenly, in the distance, Boris heard the sound fourwheelers. Three Golden Path Rebels were coming right at them with Uzis and pistols.

Boris glared before he put on a ballistic mask and pulled out a modified .44 Magnum pistol. The ballistic mask was pitch black, with the only thing on it being "Kill U" scratched on the forehead. And the .44 Magnum was upgraded with a longer barrel and a scope.

"Come get some bastards!" Boris shouted before firing his gun. With a deafening boom, one of the rebel's lost their head completely to that one bullet. The fourwheeler that the now headless rebel was driving, lost control and crashed into the rebel behind him. Causing the fourwheeler to flip and crush the second rebel.

Boris took aim again and fired at the last rebel. The shot blew off the rebel's arm, but did not kill him, though the rebel wished it had. Adjusting his aim Boris fired again, this time leaving a palm-sized hole in the rebel's chest, making the rebel fall off and crashing the fourwheeler into a tree. Boris smirked in satisfaction.

"Holy shit, what kind of handgun is that?" Ajay asked surprised.

"My trusty Cannon. I've had this baby for years and it has never let me down." Boris holstered Cannon and asked Ajay a question. "Are you almost done?"

"Yeah, I'm done." Ajay dropped the hood. Steam was no longer coming out of the engine now.

Boris looked very surprised. "How did you fix my truck with just a blowtorch!? It looks like it just came out of the shop freshly repaired." The Russian couldn't believe his eyes. Usually when he needed his truck fixed it required several different tools, but Ajay fixed it with one tool and in a short amount of time.

Ajay smirked proudly. "I used to work as a mechanic part-time back home. Let's just say my boss cried the day I left."

Boris laughed heartily and got back in the truck. Ajay hopped on top and they drove off. It was smooth sailing after that. No more Golden path got in there way and they reached their final destination: a small village.

Ajay opened the back of the truck. At the end of the truck was Nisha who was huddled with and comforting the kids. When the doors open and the light shined on them the kids slowly walked out of the truck. When they got out they instantly saw their parents and rushed to them with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. The parents embraced their kids with relief and love, happy to have their stolen children back.

"Now ain't that a sight." Nisha said as she put her elbow on Ajay's shoulder and leaned on him.

"Yeah." Boris said happily. "Sometimes this job can be shit, but little things like this make it all worth it."

Ajay had to admit, this was nice. Since coming to Kyrat, it's been fighting, running, gunning, rinse and repeat. Even saving Royal Army soldiers, didn't feel this good. Guess saving kids felt more rewarding than anything else. Perhaps because you weren't just saving a life, you are saving a future.

After waving goodbye the three headed back to the truck. Before Boris hopped back into his truck he turned to Ajay.

"You did good today Ghale. I have to admit, I didn't think much of you, but you proved me wrong." Boris held his hand out to shake once again.

Ajay was reluctant to shake the Russian's hand again. He could still feel the soreness in his hand, but if he didn't shake he'd seem like a dick. Ajay braced himself and took Boris' hand. Once again the grip was tight and Ajay was relieved when his hand was released.

"Dosvedanya Ghale. I hope we work with each other again soon." With that Boris got back in his truck and drove off.

Nisha yawned and placed her hands on the back of her head. "I'm going to. It's been a long day. It was good hanging out with you Ajay. We'll definitely have to do this again sometime. Later!" Ajay said goodbye as Nisha walked down the dirt road.

"I wonder if Pagan is ready for that assault on the Golden Path?" Ajay wondered. Suddenly his radio went off. Ajay quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Ajay Ghale!"

Ajay was so surprised from the shout he played hot-potato with his phone. He managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"W-what!? What is it Longinus?"

"I need your assistance right now! Please come to my location."

"Is this really urgent?"

"Yes it is! It involves your guns, now please come!"

Before Ajay could argue further Longinus cut himself off. Ajay sighed. Well, Pagan didn't need him yet, might as well see what the religious arms dealer wanted.

 **Up in the high hills**

Ajay had to admit, Longinus chose some nice spots to put his "churches" on. Longinus had placed his tent on the center of a very large hill. Though Ajay had to climb up with his grappling hook, it was hard to call it anything, but a hill, when it was surrounded by actual mountains. In front of Longinus' tent were makeshift wooden pews to add to the effect of an actual church.

Ajay walked through the tent's flaps and saw Longinus sitting on a crate and cleaning a rifle.

"Ajay my child! I was just thinking, that we should work together you and me and now providence has provided the means. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. That is Psalms. It means: do what soldiers do best, even if it requires you to come to a Godless country like this!" Longinus spat on the ground in disgust. "As soldiers, we protect our people through our willingness to kill. And what do we need to fulfill our purpose?" Longinus looked expectantly at Ajay.

"Faith?" Ajay said unsurely.

Longinus frowned. "Guns, Ajay! Guns! Without them, how else will we "pass through the sea of troubles" and calm the surging tides. Help me Ajay. And the Royal Army shall receive their guns."

Ajay wasn't Christian or very religious, but he was quite certain that that wasn't what the Bible meant.

"Okay." Ajay agreed albeit a bit hesitantly.

Longinus gave a gapped tooth smile. "Praise God and the scales have fallen from the boy's eyes!" Longinus brought Ajay closer to whisper in his ear. "There was a shipment, leaving over the mountain by helicopter, but it was shot down by the Golden Path."

"Why'd the Golden Path shoot down your helicopter?"

"Nasas." Longinus said spitefully. "The Golden Path's arms dealer. He knows I am in the country and is trying to undermine me, by taking what is mine. He earns more money and the Royal Army loses assets. He's trying to weaken me as much as he's trying to weaken the Royal Army."

Ajay recalled the Kyrati arms dealer when he was a hostage of the Golden Path. He was a small man, hardly intimidating, but had this look about him that said he was a shrewd businessman.

Longinus then pulled out a small device. "Take this tracker and recover the shipment before Nasas' men get to it. The Lord will provide you with transportation. What do you say?"

Ajay looked at Longinus before taking the tracker. "Amen!"

"Amen. Now, go! Go! Go, Ajay!"

 **Himalayan Mountains**

"Achoo!" Ajay sneezed and sniffled. He rubbed his arms to stay warm in the blizzard that was roaring all around him. Ajay had managed to get to the mountains by having a Sherpa take him all the way. Now all that was left was to find the shipment that Longinus spoke of.

The snow crunched underneath Ajay's feet as he made his way to his destination. The air was really thin and it felt like his lungs were on fire. The Sherpa told him if he wanted to go further or higher he would need an oxygen mask. The Sherpa unfortunately had no such item, which is why he did not go any farther with Ajay.

Ajay felt stupid for not coming prepared, but remembered that the Golden Path would be there. Perhaps one would be generous to part with their mask?

A tent was in the distance. Two Rebels were on the far side of the tent. Ajay slowly walked toward it and saw two more rebels inside the tent. One standing close to the entrance the other sitting at a desk on the far end of the tent.

Ajay unstrapped his bow and pulled back an arrow. He had to make this work. Ajay took a deep breath and quickly peaked through the door. Before the rebel could see him, Ajay fired an arrow into his heart. Acting quickly Ajay knocked back another arrow back and hit the furthest rebel in the neck. Ajay slowly creeped into the tent and took the fallen rebel's oxygen mask.

Ajay took slow deep breaths, allowing his lungs to get fresh oxygen. Now that he didn't have to worry about suffocating, Ajay pulled out his kukri and went to town. The last thing the Golden Path felt was a blade stabbing into their sides and never knowing who killed them.

. . .

Despite the biting cold, vicious wolves, and the Golden Path everywhere, Ajay thought this was the best setting for ambushes. Thanks to the blizzard he was barely visible to the Golden Path and armed with a bow and kukri at hand it was almost too easy.

Following the Tracker that Longinus gave him, Ajay found the shipment that Longinus lost on the dead body of a rebel. Ajay was confused when the tracker pointed to a small yellow box . . . which was empty.

"What's this? Where are the guns?" Ajay didn't understand. Wasn't he sent to get guns that were lost? Why did Longinus send him out here to find these very small boxes? Ajay wanted to call up Longinus to see what he was playing at, but the blizzard was messing up his signal.

"Damn. Well I'm here, so I may as well. The Royal Army better be getting their weapons though." Ajay grumbled.

. . .

The Royal Army had better get their weapons or there would be one less follower of God in the world. Finding the right box was a chore in of itself. Ajay followed the tracker, which led him to every yellow box on the mountain. Ajay had gone through three empty boxes, before finding the last one. Now following and tracking the boxes wouldn't be so bad, if he didn't have snow leopards biting his heals, black eagles trying to peck his eyes out, and Golden Path trying to shoot him. And even when Ajay found the last box, it was in a bear cave . . . with a hungry bear inside, because of course there was.

Ajay still didn't know what was inside the last box, but shaking it revealed it had many somethings and they were all small. It was sealed tight and as tempted as Ajay was to open it, he just wanted to get off the bloody mountain. So after sneaking past the Golden Path reinforcements Ajay met up with the Sherpa who took him right back to Longinus' tent.

Cold, tired, and aggravated, Ajay threw the metal box onto the table in front of Longinus.

"One surprisingly small box, as requested. I thought it was going to be a weapon's shipment for the Royal Army. That's why I went." Ajay said irritably and waiting for Longinus to speak.

Longinus slowly grabbed the metal container as if he were afraid it would hurt him and slowly brought it towards himself as if he were afraid it would shatter from a single touch.

"And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." Longinus opened the box slightly before closing it again. "They lie to you, you know this. People call it the circle of life, but life is built on a pile of bones. You eat or you are eaten. Animals call it survival . . . humans call it business."

Longinus finally opened the box, revealing to Ajay its contents: diamonds.

"Are those . . .?" Ajay's eyes widened in shock. There were rocks in there that were as big as his palms. Ajay counted a total of nine diamonds.

"Business Ajay . . . terrible business." Longinus answered. "I was saved by a bullet . . . to the head." Longinus pointed to the nasty scar on his temple. "It killed the old me, the terrible me, one you would call a warlord. But that bullet, it made a hole in my skull that allowed the light of God to slip in and I was baptized by the waters of Goka Falls."

Ajay was now starting to put together Longinus' story.

"So . . . those diamonds?"

Longinus delicately picked a diamond up and looked at it with a nostalgic face. "Leviticus 17:11, for it is the blood that makes an atonement of the soul. These are remnants of my past transgressions. Each diamond is a sin, and my hands have committed many."

Ajay looked at Longinus and examined the old African. It could be that the weapons dealer was faking it. Just trying to get his fortune back like the greedy warlord he once was, but Ajay had seen those eyes before. The eyes of true regret and Ajay was instantly reminded of Pagan . . . and himself. Longinus now had Ajay's sympathy.

Not knowing what to say or do, Ajay decided to get back to business.

"And the weapons for the Royal Army?"

Longinus shut the box quickly; a look of absolution adorned his face.

"They will get them . . . and better! Tell Pagan Min he shall receive his guns and tell him that there are stirrings in the Golden path. Something big is happening, but I do not know what. Now go! And when you are finished, come see me. For the Lord's work is never done!"

"Thanks for the tip." With that Ajay exited the tent and was about to call Pagan to tell him about the weapons, but it seemed Pagan called him first.

"Ajay~" Pagan said in a sing-songy tone before it turned deadly serious. "It's time."


	7. Retaliation

**Chapter 7**

 **Retaliation**

 _A man's greatest joy is crushing his enemies. – Genghis Khan_

Ajay was sitting in a helicopter with Pagan on their way to Varshakot, the Fortress of Paul Harmon. It would be there that they would plan an assault on the Golden Path in retaliation for Ajay's kidnapping and to just finally be rid of them. Ajay would sure be glad to get some payback on Sabal.

"That's a nice quiver you got there Ajay." Pagan complimented.

Before setting off Ajay had visited Mr. Chiffon to give him the fur of Tenzin, the rare dhole. Mumu was so thrilled he decided to give Ajay a bonus reward for getting him the rare material. Using some of Tenzin's leather and fur, Mr. Chiffon quickly crafted a quiver. One that could hold up to fifty arrows. To say Ajay was grateful was an understatement. In Kyrat you needed all the ammo you can carry and a bow allowed you almost infinite ammo.

"Thanks Pagan. Mr. Chiffon had some leftover dhole leather and he made me this."

"Though are you sure you want to be going into battle armed with a bow and arrows? Seems an archaic way to fight in this day and age, especially when you're up against people with guns."

Ajay shrugged. "It's not like I'll be using it all the time, but I do find the bow more versatile than any other weapon in my arsenal. I can fire long, mid, and short range. It's quiet. And if the arrows hit their mark I can collect them so I don't have to get new ones." Ajay explained. Pagan nodded his head accepting his stepson's argument. "So why are we having this meeting at Varshakot instead of at the Palace?"

Pagan smiled. "Many reasons actually. One, the main base of the Golden Path is Banapur, as you know, and Banapur is in the South where Paul and Noore are. Paul is basically my General and leads most of my forces in the South so it's best to plan the battle where we're going to have it. Other high ranking members of my army and Council will be there too so expect it to be a bit noisy."

Ajay nodded his head in understanding. "Is Yuma going to be there?" Ajay asked.

"Why yes she is. Yuma and Noore, you'll get to see all of my Governers in one room. That should be very interesting. Those three don't get along so well, so having them all in one place is very rare." Pagan explained

"King Min we are approaching Varshakot." The pilot announced.

"Oh! Looks like we're here!"

Ajay looked out the window and laid eyes on the Fortress that belonged to Paul 'De Pluer' Harmon, AKA Paul the Torturer.

. . .

"The City of Pain" that's what Ajay had heard the residents of Kyrat call this place. Not only for the tortured screams that could be heard from throughout the camp, but also because almost every major sin was committed in the Fortress. Guns, Drugs, Sex, Murder, Money, it all happened right here and from what Ajay heard, Paul through huge parties that divulged in every one those things in a single night.

Ajay looked around and noticed many of the soldiers, while standing at attention, were slightly drunk, high, or tired. Ajay could tell all this just by looking at their postures and eyes. After spending a while in Kyrat Ajay's awareness of things was heightened to an almost insane degree. Ajay was a little disgusted by how much the soldiers in the South were so lax and corrupted. He couldn't help, but wonder how many soldiers were like the ones he sees before him.

"King Min!" Paul called and made his way over to Pagan and Ajay.

"De Pluer! So good to see you. Is everyone here?" Pagan asked.

Paul nodded his head. "Yeah their all here, including Yuma and Noore.

"Excellent! Come along Ajay. Let's go see the War Council now." Pagan said moving through the Fortress.

"Coming!" Ajay stayed behind Pagan and took in his surroundings.

Varshakot was a fortress, but it wasn't hard to see that it was or used to be a big village. Plenty of buildings around that it could house a lot of people. What made it a Fortress, however, were the ten foot walls surrounding the entire place and from what he heard and seen there were mines surrounding the walls, snipers on the rooves, and mortars watching for intruders 24/7. No one could get in or out easily.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Paul said, noticing Ajay's curious eyes.

"Yeah. I can see why this is a Fortress, but was this a town before?"

"Yeah it was, but when Pagan took over he needed a large enough area to house an army and be able to react at any time to anything. This place was perfect. After "convincing" the residents to impart their village to us, we fortified it to the best of our abilities. It's nothing compared to Ratu Ghadi or Rajgad Gulag, Yuma and Pagan's Fortresses, but it's enough for the south." Paul said proudly

Ajay nodded his head and continued to follow Paul. They entered into one of the larger buildings and then entered a large room. Inside the room was a large table, where many people were already discussing plans for an attack. Many of them were old men, while others seemed to be in their late twenties or early thirties. Ajay spotted Yuma closest to the door; she seemed annoyed about all the shouting men. Another woman was sitting next to her, but this one was of Kyarti origin. She wore traditional Kyrati garb, including a jeweled headdress adorning her long black hair, and a nose piercing. Considering she was dressed differently then the others, Ajay assumed she was Noore. Just like Yuma she seemed very annoyed. Everyone in the room, other than the Governors, were high ranking Chiefs of the Royal Army.

When they entered the room everyone became deathly silent as they saw their King enter the room.

"All hail King Min! May his Light shine upon us all!" Many of the men shouted.

Pagan chuckled a little before sitting down. "Yuma, Noore, so good to see you both."

Yuma said hello in Cantonese and Noore just gave Pagan a cold nod. Pagan just chuckled again. Ajay stood behind Pagan quietly, which drew the King's attention immediately.

"Ajay why aren't you sitting down?" Pagan motioned to the seat right next to his.

Ajay was confused for a moment. Ajay thought that was Paul's seat, but he saw the Governor taking a seat on the other side of Noore.

"Oh. Sorry, okay." Ajay quickly took the seat next to Pagan, feeling awkward when everyone looked at him.

"Now then, how goes the planning?"

One of the Officers stood up and spoke. "Not so good, your Highness. We can't seem to come to an agreement. Perhaps now that you're here we can finally decide on a plan of action."

"Zhèxiē báichī yīzhí zài zuò shénme, dàn bàoyuàn. Tāmen shèzhì zhí yì Pagan." Yuma said in Cantonese. Ajay wasn't completely certain, but he was sure that Yuma just insulted all the men in the room.

"My King, I suggest that we perform a frontal assault. The Golden Path are weakened since the attack at Chal Jama Monastery. We should hit them hard at where they live."

"And I told this fool, that that would be suicide. We may have the numbers, but not enough weapons for a battle of attrition. If we perform a direct attack, both sides will become crippled and then neither will be able to finish the other off. Thus drawing out the war even more."

The one who said that was an old man, probably in his fifties. He had dark skin, a wrinkly face, grey hair, and a long beard. He wore the Royal Army attire like everyone else in the room, but Ajay noticed he had a few more medals then the others.

"Hmm, I do want this war with the Golden Path settled quickly . . . and as brutally as possible, but I also don't want my army to be indisposed and have the war drag for another twenty years. So what do you suggest, Chief Kiaan Dabar?

The man named Kiaan looked at the large map of Kyrat that was on the table and pointed at a certain location. "There is a Golden Path Camp right near this Outpost. The Golden Path hold this position for two reasons. The first: is because it allows them to warn all the nearby Outposts. The second: there are some ruins that the Golden Path holds dear. But what they don't realize is that there are mountainous trails that can lead straight to Banapur. I say we avoid all of the Golden Path forces and hit them all at the source when they least expect us."

"That path may lead to Banapur, but all our forces cannot travel through it. It's too narrow! Only a small force will be able to go through, which will not be enough to fight the Golden Path rebels!"

Shouts once again rang through the room, getting louder and louder by the second. Ajay was starting to see why the Governors were annoyed when he walked in. They were probably dealing with this for a while.

Pagan himself was definitely starting to lose patients if the throbbing vein on his forehead was any indication.

"Quiet!" Pagan yelled, silencing everyone in the room. "Paul, what do you think?"

"They're both good plans, sir. However, both are right. A frontal assault would be costly, but could severely hurt the Golden Path for a time. Taking the mountain path could work too but an ambush can only work for so long and we can only send a small force through."

Pagan sighed in annoyance and then smiled brightly. Many were confused by his sudden change in mood, until their King turned to Ajay.

"Ajay, what do you think we should do? Whatever you decide we'll do it."

Many of the Royal Army Chiefs stared wide-eyed. Their King was letting Ajay Ghale decide on how to deal with Mohan Ghale's rebel army? The Governors were only a little surprised that Pagan put Ajay in charge. Ever since Ajay showed up this was a common thing, Pagan letting Ajay do whatever he wanted, so this was not that surprising to them.

"My King, are you sure it is wise to let the son of Mohan Ghale decide on—"

*BANG*

The Chief didn't even finish his sentence as Pagan pulled out a 1911 handgun and shot him in the head.

"Anyone else have a complaint?" Pagan threatened with a mad look in his eye.

No one dared to speak up.

"Good. Now Ajay, your thoughts?"

Not even concerned about Pagan's actions, he was already so used to Pagan's violent outbursts since their first meeting; Ajay looked at the map and studied it to the best of his abilities. After a few seconds he gave them his idea.

"Why don't we do both?" Ajay said.

This earned him a few chuckled and some annoyed sighs.

"Do both? I don't think you've been listening boy."

"I have been listening, but instead of doing one thing, we spread out and do both." Ajay explained. The Chiefs and Governors now had their attention solely on Ajay. "Yuma, you run the Hunter forces right?"

"Yes, I do."

"We'll send a small contingency of Hunters through the mountain path. They'll sneak behind Banapur and strike when least expected. While they're traversing through the mountains, the southern forces will advance on the Golden Path. We'll hit this Outpost here, the Khilana Bazaar, to give us a foothold in the area."

"Great plan . . . except, once again, you weren't listening!" The one that keep trying to argue with Ajay was a man in his late twenties. He was handsome with slicked back dark hair and brown eyes. "The army is not well equipped for a frontal assault, so we'll still lose many in the fight."

Before Ajay could reply, an American man walked in. He had brown hair, wore a tan business suit, and black sunglasses.

"Gary! What are you doing here? This meeting's private." Pagan barked at his glorified secretary.

"Sorry King Min, but I thought I'd let you know that our supplier Longinus has just brought in several crates of weapons. He left a note thanking Ajay and hopes to do more business with Mr. Ghale in the future." Gary said.

Ajay turned to everyone in the room and smirked. "Well that takes care of that. I'd say we're well armed for the moment." Ajay said smugly.

"Why you—"

"Hold your tongue, Chirag Bashu. It seems Ajay has thought ahead and has given us a chance to be rid of the Golden Path. So the next words that come out of your mouth better be respectful."

To the surprise of everyone, including Pagan, it was Yuma who spoke up and defended Ajay.

The annoying one named, Chirag, remained silent when The Spider snapped at him.

Pagan burst into laughter and pats Ajay on the back. "Well done Ajay! Looks like you were one step ahead of everyone in this room. So I assume there are no objections to this plan?" Pagan asked everyone in the room. Some looked like they wanted to challenge Ajay, but they remained silent as they knew it was a good plan that he came up with. "In that case, let's get started."

After about another hour to work out the details of the plan, everyone was set. It was time to attack the Golden Path Main Base.

. . .

It wasn't hard taking the camp. Ajay led Yuma and her Hunters to the camp and, using stealth, easily took the camp without any rebels even knowing what hit them. They traveled through the mountains and found the path that Kiaan told them about.

"Here we are." Yuma said. "We'll take the path and get behind Banapur."

"Excellent. Remember you and the Hunters attack once the army hits Banapur."

"I know the plan Ghale. I have to admit, I'm impressed with the plan you made. You kept your cool in front of all those fops. They may not look it, but they are intimidating people in their own right. I'm interested to see what you'll do in the future." Yuma complimented.

Ajay rubbed his head bashfully. "Thanks."

The radio crackled alive, Paul was screaming through it.

"Ajay! We need your help. Please respond!" Paul yelled.

"Paul? What's wrong?"

"They were waiting for us. We charged the outpost, but the Golden Path were prepared for us. The operation's been compromised."

"Pull out!" Ajay yelled.

"We can't they got us pinned we need reinforcements."

"I'm on my way. Hang tight."

Yuma frowned. "I don't understand, how could they know we were coming? We were very discreet about this assault. The Golden Path shouldn't have known."

"There's only one way they could've known . . ."

Yuma's eyes widened in realization. "Someone on the inside told them."

"We can't stop the operation now. Continue on your way to Banapur, but be careful. If the Golden Path know we're coming, then they know about you as well. So keep alert."

Yuma nodded before she commanded her Hunters to move out. "Good luck, Ghale." Yuma said before following her men.

Ajay quickly hopped onto one of the Golden Path's fourwheeler and headed to the Khilana Bazaar.

When he arrived it was absolute chaos. The Royal Army was being trampled, literally, by one elephant and it's rider. And the other rebels were pushing the soldiers back. Ajay saw Paul kneeled down behind cover and joined him.

"Ajay! Thank god you're here! These rebel bastards are giving us a hard time." Paul said.

"We need to start advancing now! Yuma is already on her way to Banapur. They'll be sitting ducks if we don't get there soon." Ajay urged.

"We're trying, but old Hard Stomp there is giving us trouble."

"Hard what?" Ajay asked confused and Paul pointed to the elephant.

Ajay looked over cover and got a better look at the elephant and saw that it was older than most elephants Ajay had seen in Kyrat. It had yellow paint on its face that was in the image of the Golden Path's symbol: two golden kukris crossed over each other. The image was painted over the elephant's eyes like war-paint.

"Hard Stomp. An elephant that's been with the Golden Path for years. That old pachyderm has been trampling Royal Army soldier and outposts for years and its rider Shray is a nasty son of a bitch." Paul explained.

On Hard Stomp's back was a Golden Path rebel. He had bronze skin and was shirtless. He had long dark grey hair worn in dreads and a long grey beard that had parts tied and ignited with fire. He wore a yellow headband and straps all over his body holding several bottles of alcohol. He ignited the bottles, making Molotov cocktails, and threw them at Royal Army soldiers. He laughed maniacally when he heard the agonized screams of his burning victims before they were crushed by the elephant.

"Man, everyone really is a psycho in this country." Ajay mumbled. "Have you called reinforcements?" Ajay asked Paul.

"Yes, but it will be a while before they get here. They're all the way at Varshakot remember?"

"We won't last that long and we need every able body to take on the Golden Path. We can't be stopped here." Ajay popped out of cover and began firing his assault rifle at many of the Golden Path. He took down three and injured two in the first attack. Getting back into cover, Ajay said, "Okay I got a plan."

"Already!?" Paul exclaimed.

"Yeah I came up with it after shooting those guys and scanning the place. I'll deal with the elephant; you guys take care of the Golden Path. Make sure they don't get in my way." Ajay started to get up, but was grabbed by Paul.

"What are you going to do?" Paul asked. He wasn't entirely worried about Ajay, but if something were to happen to the kid Pagan would skin him alive . . . literally.

"Something stupid." After hearing that Paul tried to stop Ajay, but he already ran off.

"Shit. Cover Ajay!" Paul ordered and he and the soldiers opened fire. Clearing the way for Ajay.

Ajay sprinted past all the rebels, who were either shot by Paul and his men or by Ajay who was wielding his custom Sixer pistol. He almost reached his target until Hard Stomp got in his way. The ancient elephant trumpeted and the rebel on his back sneered before barking, "I'm going to burn you traitor!"

Hard Stomp charged. Ajay stood completely still until the last moment, where he jumped out of the way of the rampaging elephant. Unfortunately, Shray didn't make it easy and continued to throw Molotov cocktails at Ajay. Ajay continued to dodge the cocktails, until he got caught by Hard Stomp's trunk.

"Hahaha smash him Hard Stomp!" Shray laughed.

Hard Stomp didn't get the chance as Ajay whipped out his pistol, Sixer, and fired at the elephants eye. Hard Stomp dropped Ajay from the pain and started to stamp around uncontrollably.

"You fucker! You blinded my elephant!" Shray shouted.

Ajay took this chance and went straight for his target: a jeep. Ajay stood at the front of the jeep and placed three bricks of C4 on the hood. He then got in the trunk and revved its engine. The wheels spun faster and faster, gaining speed and momentum, but not going anywhere yet. Shray was starting to calm Hard Stomp down, making the elephant stay in place. Good.

Ajay smirked as he pushed the gear shift into drive and the vehicle shot straight toward the elephant. Shray saw it coming and motioned Hard Stomp to face the jeep in hopes of toppling the vehicle and crushing Ajay.

The jeep got closer and closer at a very fast pace, but before it reached the now angry hard Stomp, Ajay jumped out at the last second.

When Ajay stopped rolling on the dirt he pulled out a detonator and smirked. The jeep and Hard Stomp collided, but the second it did it was all over.

"Eat this." Ajay said and pushed the detonator's button.

The C4 on the front of the truck blew up right in Hard Stomp's face and with three bricks of C4 to add to the power the explosion was huge. Hard Stomp's head and front legs were turned into a bloody pulp and a giant gap was now formed on the elephant's body. Revealing the mammal's guts and bones. ***** The only thing left was the backside of the great elephant.

Shray, however, managed to survive the explosion with only a few minor burns, but he was very upset. Shray and Hard Stomp had been through much together and now his giant friend had been brutally killed by one man.

"Rrrraaaahhhhhh! I'll kill you!" Shray shouted as he charged Ajay with a molotov cocktail in a raised hand. But before he could get to Ajay a shotgun went off, hitting Shray, but not killing him. Instead the shot broke his makeshift grenade engulfing the pyromaniac in fire. Shray screamed in pain, but still kept going, hoping to bring Ajay down to hell with him, but another shotgun blast sent the burning man down for good.

Ajay looked for the person that saved his life and was surprised to see the familiar face of the only American redneck in all of Kyrat.

"Hoo-man! That guy was on fire. You know literally and figuratively. Because he was lit on **fire** and was still going even though he was on **freakin fire**. It's a joke, man. Aww you know it's a joke. You're cool that way."

"Hurk? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean 'what am I doing here?' I'm helping my Royal Army buddies and saving your life. That's what I'm doing." Hurk answered.

"Well, thanks." Ajay replied sincerely. Hurk maybe weird, but the man still saved his life.

Paul ran up to him and asked, "Ajay, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine Paul. Hurk helped me out there."

"Just happy to help." Hurk gave a mock salute.

Many of the Royal Army soldiers gathered around the dead Hard Stomp.

"Holy shit. You actually killed Hard Stomp."

"No one has ever gone up against Hard Stomp and Shray and lived to tell about it."

"To bad the head's gone. We could've hung it up like a trophy."

Many of the soldiers began to praise Ajay for his courage, quick thinking and fighting prowess. Obviously they didn't think he would have been able to do it, but Ajay proved them wrong. Ajay was starting to see morale go up now.

Suddenly they all heard horns in the distance. Red trucks started pulling in, it was the reinforcements. Out of one of the trucks came Pagan. He looked around and saw all the carnage, he especially looked very closely at the dead elephant. Pagan sighed with annoyance.

"What did I miss?"

"Things got out of control." Ajay answered honestly.

". . . . I hate when things get out of control."

. . .

After setting up the outpost and explaining what happened, Pagan was in a better mood and no longer had the desire to stab someone with his pen. Pagan found it both amazing and amusing on how Ajay handled the Golden Path and their war elephant.

"The scouts we sent out came back and told us that the Golden Path have set up road blocks leading to Banapur." Paul told Pagan.

"I see. Well, we don't have much choice, but to plow through, yes?" Pagan sighed. "Unless anyone else has a brilliant idea, we need to start the attack soon."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I have one! Me! Me!" Hurk raised his hand in the air like a child at show-and-tell.

"Er, yes you with the beard?" Pagan pointed at Hurk.

"Follow me."

Everyone looked at each other strangely before following the man child. They followed Hurk around a house and stopped in front of something big that had a tarp on it.

"Ta-da!" Hurk pulled the tarp off revealing a red gyrocopter. "Aerial support! While you guys are driving, we can fly over the Golden Path and rain death from above over their asses. We can be just like fuckin Rambo man, but with a gyrocopter instead of a boat and a grenade launcher instead of a bow and arrow."

"Hmm, that could work." Pagan said as he stroked his chin. He actually seemed to like this plan. "And who is we?"

Hurk shoulder hugged Ajay. "Why me and Ajay of course. The Tat Brothers in action! Takin names and kick'in ass!"

"Ajay?" Pagan asked if he was cool with this.

" Yeah. I don't see a problem with this."

Pagan smiled and clapped his hands. " Alright! Then we have a plan of attack. Paul get the men ready. Ajay you and umm . . . this gentleman here get in the air and get ready." With that Pagan left.

"Alright so do you want to pilot or do you want to be the one shooting?"

"I'm afraid of heights so I think I'll fly us, if that's cool with you." Hurk said.

"You're afraid of heights? But your still gonna be up in the air."

"Yeah, but I'll be sitting in a comfy chair instead of dangling by a rope. Big difference compadre. Now let's get this whirlybird going."

Ajay just shook his head at Hurk's logic and got the copter working. Once Hurk was up in the air, Ajay latched onto the bottom of the copter with his grappling hook. Once in the air, Ajay pulled out his M-79 grenade launcher.

"You ready, Ajay?" Pagan asked over the radio.

"Yeah let's do this."

Five Royal Army trucks headed out on the dirt road in a neat line. Each truck was filled to the brim with soldiers and had a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the back. The first truck, the one leading the other four, was commanded by none other than Pagan himself, who was standing with the machine gun.

Hurk had the gyrocopter a little ahead of the trucks so as to get a bird's eye view.

"Hey Pagan. What's with those trucks? They seem more heavily armed then most I've seen driving around." Ajay asked.

It was true. The five trucks had more armor on them meaning they could take more damage and the mounted guns on the back had shields in front of them to protect the shooter from incoming fire. On the side of the trucks was a painted white skull with a slanted red crown on its head.

"Ah you've noticed. Yes these are my elite fighters. They are the Pagan's Wrath. Elite fighters with elite weapons. I send them out to clear the roads when the Golden Path are getting a little too comfortable. I figured it would be best to have them help us in this assault."

"Here comes the first roadblock!" Hurk shouted through the radio.

Ajay saw them as well. The Golden Path left their trucks in the middle of the road, with several rebels standing watch. None of them looked up to see the gyrocopter coming right at them. Ajay smirked before he aimed his grenade launcher. Once the sight was angled properly he fired. The Golden Path were hit with a small explosion that destroyed their vehicles and several rebels. The ones unlucky enough to survive tried shooting at Ajay and Hurk, but they were quickly shot at or run over by the Royal Army trucks.

Another roadblock came and Ajay blew them all away before they were taken down by the trucks. Three more roadblocks and it was the same song and dance.

"Not very good roadblocks are they Ajay?" Hurk said.

"No they aren't, but I expect the real battle will start once we get to Banapur." Ajay said.

As they got closer to the rebel village, Ajay heard a familiar whistle sound cut through the air.

"Mortar fire!" Ajay warned over the radio.

The trucks took evasive action before they were blown to smithereens. Thankfully no vehicles were destroyed, but the mortar fire was still coming. Ajay could see that the mortar fire was coming from the edge of Banapur.

"Hurk! Get me in close."

"You got it Ajay."

Going higher so as not to get accidentally hit by mortar fire, Ajay could see the three mortars being loaded by Golden Path Rebels. Pulling out his Camera, Ajay zoomed in and saw someone he's been dying to see.

Sabal.

"Payback time." Ajay growled. "Hurk, go down."

The gyrocopter descended. Ajay loaded the grenade launcher and fired. The mortar was hit, destroying it and the rebels surrounding it. Ajay fired again and destroyed the second mortar. The Golden Path were now shooting at them, but they weren't an easy target. They came to the last mortar which Sabal was personally handling.

"Ajay!" Sabal growled with clenched teeth.

"Hey Sabal!" Ajay pointed his weapon right at the rebel leader. "From me to you, with love!"

Sabal's eyes widened and tried to make a run for it. The grenade flew destroying the mortar and the shells surrounding it and the crate of ammunition sitting next to it too. The explosion was huge and force blew several of the Golden Path away including Sabal. However, Sabal took the brunt of the blast and crashed right into a shed, making it fall all over him.

"H-O-L-Y S-H-I-T! It's like the Fourth of July down there." Hurk said impressed.

"It's about to get more exciting in Banapur, Hurk." Ajay saw the Royal Army trucks finally reach the entrance of the village and were engaging the Golden Path. Ajay could see that Pagan was having the time of his life. "Come on, Hurk. Let's rain hell down on these guys."

"Hell yeah!"

The Golden Path were becoming disarrayed. With Sabal fallen and their defenses breached, the Golden Path was losing its cool. Ajay kept firing grenades into town, blowing the rebels to pieces. Many rebels tried to shoot them down, but none succeeded.

"This is almost too easy." Hurk said.

Ajay smiled as he agreed with the redneck. However, Ajay frowned when he saw someone standing on the rooftops. It was Amita and she had in her hands a sniper rifle.

"What? Pfft! There's no way she can shoot us with a sniper rifle. Not when I'm moving us around so much." Hurk said incredulously. "That lady'll need a miracle to hit me!"

Amita fired and hit the engine of the gyrocopter. The copter started to steam and beep erratically. Its propeller was slowing down.

"Well hallelujah." Ajay muttered dryly.

The gyrocopter stopped and started to fall.

"Ahh! We're going down Ajay brace for impact!" Hurk yelled.

Ajay was low enough thanks to his rope that he managed to jump onto a roof safely. The gyrocopter fell to the ground and exploded in a fiery blaze.

"Hurk!?" Ajay looked over the roof to see if Hurk survived.

"I'm okay!" Ajay looked over at the other roof to see Hurk lying down, breathing heavily and his hand over his heart. "Jumped at the last second. Sexy sniper girl ain't the only one with luck." Hurk laughed.

Ajay sighed in relief and pulled out his MP34 assault rifle. He hopped down and shot three rebels trying to get him. Ajay quickly took a grenade and threw it into a house he saw two rebels go into. Their screams were an indication that they were dead.

A shotgun blast rang out near him and Ajay turned around to see a dead rebel. Up above Hurk had his shotgun pointed right at the rebel.

"I got your back homey!" Hurk gave a thumbs up and kept leaping onto roofs. Ajay smirked and continued on his assault.

Any Golden Path that got in his way was quickly mowed down. Most of the rebels were heading out of the village as that was wear the bigger battle was taking place. Suddenly, a volley of arrows came out of nowhere and killed the rebels in front of Ajay. Hunters came out of the shadows and so did Yuma.

The Governor of the North approached Ajay.

"Good to see you made it Ghale." Yuma nodded.

"Did you have any trouble getting here?" Ajay asked. Since they were compromised he was worried that their Hunter group would be attacked.

"Yeah they were lying in wait, but they underestimated a Hunter's perception. We could easily see them in their hiding spots." Yuma smirked.

Ajay couldn't help, but smirk with her. "Help clear out the village and then go join Pagan on the front lines."

"Right. Hunters! Let's go!" Yuma and her hunters then slipped back into the shadows like ghosts.

After a while the village was almost cleared out and from the sound of it, Yuma had just flanked the Golden Path on the front lines. The battle was almost over.

"Hurk, you see Amita anywhere?" Ajay was curious on where the second elephant head had gone.

"Sniper Lady? No I don't see—" A shot rang out and Hurk fell off the roof and to the ground.

"Hurk!" Ajay quickly ran to his friend. The man was lying on his back disoriented, but his shoulder was bleeding profusely.

"Hurk, are you alright?"

"I'm shot in the arm, man. What do you think?" Hurk groaned. Hurk gripped his arm to stop the bleeding.

"Right, sorry." Ajay pulled out one of his health syringes and stabbed Hurk in the thigh. Hurk groaned, but then sighed in relief.

"Holy crap, man. That stuff works like a dream. Haven't had something like that since hanging out with Jason."

"You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah I'll be fine now. You go after Amita. I'm gonna sit here and get my bearings."

Ajay nodded and went off to find Amita. It wasn't too hard when a red dot suddenly showed up on his chest.

"Shit!" Ajay quickly jumped out of the way and into cover. He followed the red line and found her on the roof.

Ajay quickly open fired, but she slipped out before he could get her. Ajay quickly went after her, hoping to take out both Golden Path leaders before the battle was over.

"Where did she go?" Ajay pondered.

"Rah!"

Ajay looked up and quickly rolled out of the way as Amita jumped from the roof and tried to stab him. The kukri hit the dirt and she glared up at Ajay.

"I told Sabal that we should have killed you instead. I told him you were trouble, looks like I was right all along." Amita spat.

Ajay pulled out his kukri and the two slowly circled each other.

"I guess I'll have to kill you myself!"

Amita pulled out a modified A99 SMG and began firing. Ajay's eyes widened and quickly ran to cover as bullets hit him in the back. His body armor was useless now, but at least he was alive. When Ajay heard Amita was reloading, that's when he ran out of cover and brought down his blade on the woman.

Amita swiped her kukri to deflect the blow. Amita thrust her blade and Ajay parried it. He slashed her across the face, but Amita managed to duck underneath the slash. She went for his gut, but Ajay managed to jump back away from her blade. She tried to advance on him, but Ajay was easily blocking Amita's blows.

Ajay realized that Amita was not as skilled as Sabal in close quarters. He could tell she was a decent combatant, but not enough against someone with his level.

Amita spun around and tried to cut Ajay's face. Ajay bent back and avoided the slash. When he stood straight again, Ajay struck quick and managed to cut her jacket. Amita gritted her teeth. She was starting to get tired and Ajay was closing in on her. She was losing this fight.

Amita avoided another strike to her face and kicked Ajay to the ground. She tried to stab him while he was on the ground, but Ajay rolled out of the way before she could gut him. Ajay quickly kicked Amita in the face and then tried to stab her as well. He was successful and managed to stab her in the shoulder and pin her to the ground.

Amita cried out in pain and tried to push Ajay off her. He punched her several times to keep her down, but she continued to flail and scream. With her freehand Amita grabbed Ajay's arm and bit down hard.

Ajay screamed in pain and pulled his arm away from the girl's jaws. As he grabbed his bitten arm, Amita grabbed the kukri imbedded in her shoulder and slashed at Ajay. Ajay quickly fell back, getting off of the rebel leader. Her attack landed a huge cut over his chest. It wasn't deep, but it was still bleeding.

Amita saw her modified SMG on the ground and crawled toward it. Ajay saw this and quickly grabbed Amita's kukri. Amita successfully got to her handgun and quickly turned and pointed it at Ghale.

Ajay, however, was quicker, and redirected the gun and slashed the kukri across Amita's face.

The slash left a bleeding gash on her face. The slash went from her right cheek up to her left temple. Amita screamed in absolute pain, as the attack not only left a deep cut, but took out her left eye too.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Losing her eye was unbearably painful. However, the adrenaline kept her going and thinking fast. So before Ajay could finish her, Amita took a risk and pulled out a grenade. In quick desperation, Amita pulled the grenade's pin, but instead of throwing it, she dropped it in front of Ajay and herself.

Ajay stared in shock and quickly ran to cover as did Amita.

"Shit!" Ajay jumped as the blast knocked him off his feet and he landed hard on the ground. He avoided any lethal damage the grenade could have caused, but he hit his head hard. Ajay was seeing spots and his ears were ringing.

Groaning, Ajay slowly got up. He gripped the side of his head in pain; his ears still ringing and his vision shifting. A few seconds passed and he saw Royal Army soldiers coming into the village scanning the area for more Golden Path.

Slowly, sound was returning to his ears and Ajay was hearing someone shouting.

" . . . ay . . . jay . . . Ajay!" Pagan ran up to Ajay and placed his hands on the young man's shoulders. "Ajay are you alright?" Pagan saw all the cuts and scratches on Ajay's person and was worried he was hurt.

Ajay winced. "Not so loud Pagan. I nearly got blown up by a grenade. My ears are still ringing."

Pagan sighed in relief. "Ah. Good. You're not in any critical condition." Pagan looked around. "At least you did better here than at Chal Jama Monastery. You're completely conscious this time." Pagan looked at Ajay and wrapped his arm around him, slowly leading him somewhere. "Come on old boy, let's go have the medic take a look at you.

"Did we win?" Ajay asked a bit disoriented.

"Yeah, son. We won."

. . .

After getting his wounds checked out and bandaged, Ajay explained what happened. Needless to say, despite a few bumps, the mission was a complete success. Banapur was taken and all the Golden Path rebels were killed or captured. Oddly enough there were no civilians in the fight. The entire village was just full of rebels instead. Ajay assumed that maybe the Golden Path evacuated everyone before the Royal Army arrived.

"So Amita escaped?" Pagan asked.

Ajay was sitting in a foldable cot as he explained his part of the battle. "Yeah. She threw a grenade between the both of us. A gamble if there ever was one. I guess after cutting out her eye she was desperate to either kill me or escape." Ajay explained.

Pagan chuckled sardonically. "She's lucky you're not suicidal. Most of the time."

"At least I got Sabal. He's now out of the picture. Cut one head off that elephant."

"Maybe."

"What do you mean maybe?"

"We searched the shed Sabal blew up in. Nothing in there but broken wood and bullets."

"So he could still be alive?" Ajay couldn't believe anyone could survive an explosion and a crash into a wooden shed at that speed.

"Now I didn't say that." Pagan chided. "We simply just don't have his body. Whether he's alive or not I can't say. Likely the Golden Path just wanted his body and took it before the fight ended."

That was possible too. Ajay had seen some of the pyre funerals that the locals performed for the dead. It's possible that the Golden Path collected Sabal's body for cremation, but then why couldn't he shake this weird feeling that something was wrong?

"Pagan." Ajay and Pagan turned to Yuma and Paul. "We chased the Golden Path retreaters into the mountains, but we lost them."

"They'll either die from the weather or just run to another country and leave us alone." Paul said. "Good riddance."

"You don't know where they are?"

"Like I said we lost them. It doesn't matter anyways. We crushed them and took their main base. The Golden Path is finished in Kyrat." Yuma said proudly.

"There are still some splinter groups still fighting and waving their golden banners, but we'll deal with them over time." Paul said.

Ajay, again, wasn't so sure and felt like something was off. He didn't believe the Golden Path will give up so easily. But their leaders were beaten and their main base of operations was captured. So why didn't this feel like they've won. Suddenly Ajay recalled something that Longinus said after he the former warlord his conflict diamonds.

"Before this, Longinus told me there were stirrings in the Golden Path. Like they had some sort of big plan and were getting ready for some big attack." Ajay told the three what Longinus told him. "And then there's also that mole in the Royal Army that told the Golden Path about our plans."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Yuma waved off. "Whatever they had planned it's finished now. And we'll find the mole sooner or later."

"I'm a people person so I'll look into who our spy is when I get the chance. This has been an incredible victory, Ajay." Paul praised. "And we couldn't have won this without you."

Pagan clapped Ajay on the back. "They're right Ajay. You did tremendously out there! The Golden Path is defeated. We'll worry about tomorrow's problems tomorrow. Right now, let's get you and the men patched up and have ourselves a huge party in celebration!"

Many of the Royal Army soldiers who heard that quickly cheered in approval.

"What do you say?"

Despite the uneasy feeling in his brain, Ajay nonetheless, smiled and nodded his head in agreement. They had fought a hard battle and deserve to relax after such an ordeal.

"Yeah alright. I guess a celebration sounds good." Ajay said.

The soldiers cheered in excitement and anticipation.

Pagan smiled fondly at Ajay.

'Yeah. He'll do great in this country. I was right to decide to make him king.' Pagan thought. Now that the Golden Path was finished Pagan just now had to figure out how to tell Ajay he was handing Kyrat over to him.

 **Somewhere hidden deep in the mountains**

The Golden Path, what remained from Banapur, trudged through the snow and pushed through the blistering cold wind. They carried wounded, supplies, weapons, and whatever else was important through the mountain peaks.

The now one-eyed Amita was being supported by one of her hunters. Sabal's unmoving body was being carried by two of his most loyal allies on a stretcher. Sabal was covered in a sleeping bag to prevent any further damage to him, but it was really hard to tell if the rebel leader was alive or dead. Probably both.

Though the Golden Path was defeated, they had only lost the battle, but the war . . . the war was not over yet. The future looked dark, but the Golden Path would shine their way to victory. Sooner or later, Pagan and his puppet Ajay Ghale would fall.

As the surviving rebels came to a mountain edge, they finally reached their destination. Overlooking the cliff, on one of the highest peaks, was an ancient temple. Large and imposing, truly a work of architecture not seen in ages.

"Amita, we are here."

Amita groggily looked up at the temple that was waiting for them. She could see the small dim lights at the entrance meaning that the Golden Path was waiting to receive them.

Amita smiled wickedly. "Good. Just wait, Ajay Ghale. This war is not over."

* * *

 ***No elephants were harmed in the making of this fanfic.**

 **If you thought this fic was over, you were so wrong. ;)**


	8. Champion of Shanath

**Chapter 8**

 **Champion of Shanath**

 _Anyone can train to be a gladiator. What marks you out is having the mindset of a champion. – Manu Bennett_

Several days had passed since the Battle of Banapur and word had spread faster than any wild fire. Many rejoiced hearing the news of the Golden Path's defeat, but there were as many disheartened as well. The Pirate Radio Star, Rabi Ray Rana, was especially depressed about the news and his shows came up less and less.

Of course, not all was quiet. There were still splinter groups of Golden Path all over. Still fighting, still waving their banners in the air as if they haven't completely lost. Paul and Yuma hunkered down on their territories wiping out any Golden Path left, but the remaining rebels were dug in deep like a fat tick. Paul especially was working hard and fast to discover the location of Amita and Sabal, but no matter how many he tortured no one knew where they were. Pagan had put up bounties and offered rewards to anyone who knew their location and informed neighboring countries to keep an eye out for them.

Despite the contribution most of the Governors and war chiefs made, the biggest star right now was none other than Ajay Ghale. Soldiers and citizens alike had seen what he had done on the battlefield and found him unbelievably amazing. In taverns all across Kyrat stories and rumors were flying around about the Son of Mohan. Many of them true and many of them exaggerated. Never the less, no one could deny that Ajay was a hot topic and everyone was now wondering: what would Ajay Ghale do next?

. . .

Ajay was in the Royal Palace dining room, eating breakfast with Pagan Min. They were having keerai vadai, with lachha paratha, and some bhatura. The cook that made it was very good, but it made Ajay miss his mother's cooking a bit.

"So what have you been up to lately Ajay?" Pagan asked.

"Been traveling around a lot. Helping the Army and the people." Ajay answered. He paused to think about all the things he'd done in the past few days. "I stopped some Golden Path from blowing up a settlement by diffusing their bombs. I managed to steal a cargo truck full of food and delivered it to a nearby village. Helped Paul kill some high-ranking Golden Path rebels. Dealt with some of the animal problems around Kyrat. And I aided the Army in re-taking several outposts. Overall, I've been very busy."

Pagan couldn't help but smile. Despite winning a tremendous battle, Ajay wasn't satisfied with taking it easy. He always had to be doing something, with only taking it easy for a little while.

"Just like your mother. Always doing more, even when you've already done so much."

"Thanks again for the amazing room, Pagan. I can usually sleep anywhere, but the luxury is very nice." Ajay said.

"No need for thanks, Ajay. I'm more than happy to provide you with accommodations." Pagan then had a thoughtful look on his face. "Actually, now that I think about it, you should have your own house somewhere here in Kyrat."

Ajay stopped eating as that bit of information got his attention. "I have a house?"

Pagan nodded. "Yes. Down in the south, very close to the border of the north if I'm not mistaken. Before Ishwari spied for Mohan and the two of us fell in love, they built a nice little house on a cliff. Very rustic, if you're into that sort of thing."

Ajay couldn't help, but be curious about this homestead. Ajay liked the room he had in the Royal Palace. It belonged to his mother and was very comfortable. The safehouses were nice too, when he needed to rest. Truthfully, all of Kyrat could be considered his home, however, this homestead belonged to both his biological parents and while Ajay had no real attachment to Mohan, it was still his mother's marital home.

"Think I could go check it out?" Ajay asked.

Pagan shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "I don't see why not. It should be empty. I had the Army make it forbidden for anyone to enter it. It may have belonged to your father, but it was Ishwari's home too, so there was no way I was going to condemn it."

"Well, it looks like I have something to do today." Ajay finished his breakfast and stood up. "I'll see you later, Pagan. I'm going to go reclaim my family home."

"Have fun!" Pagan waved.

Before Ajay exited the room, he paused in the door and turned to Pagan again. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, but have you found out who the mole is yet?"

Pagan sighed in annoyance. "Mmm, no. Though whoever it is they are hiding right under our noses. Paul is interrogating a lot of people and Yuma is hounding the Royal Army Chiefs, but so far their efforts have not achieved anything. But don't worry we have eyes and ears everywhere. Sooner or later we'll figure it out."

Ajay nodded and headed out. Ajay couldn't help, but worry. Whoever the mole was inside the Royal Army was able to slip past Yuma and Pagan of all people. And the longer it took to find the culprit, the more danger they'd all be in.

. . .

After traveling down south, Ajay had finally made it to his family's Homestead. He had to admit it was much nicer then he imagined. High up top a hill, next to a beautiful waterfall and a giant oak tree, sat a two-story house. It was painted in a multitude of bright colors, namely red and green, but the paint seemed to have faded do to time and uncare. Trash was strewn about the place, but the land seemed very fertile. A garden and maybe even an animal pen could be made here.

Ajay slowly approached his once-home, but stopped when he found a piece of paper taped to the door.

 _ **Let your mind be opened by potentiality**_

 _ **Are you at a crossroads of self-actualization and desire?**_

 _ **Are you seeking guidance through this transformative multiverse?**_

 _ **Are you yearning for an ennobling of pseudo-divine consciousness?**_

 _ **Welcome to Guru Ashram where the great prophet Yogi will guide you to a blossoming osmosis of mythic intuition.**_

"What the hell?"

Listening closely, Ajay could hear people talking through the door. Ajay opened the door and found two strange looking foreigners lying about in his parents' house, smoking a joint. The entire house was littered with miscellaneous items, such as boxes and barrels. Did they do this?

"I'm just saying, if you can disembowel someone, why can't you embowel them?"

"Wait, embowel, like empower? Right that's an archaic term. It still means to disembowel."

"What like flammable and inflammable?"

"Yep."

The two guys just kept passing the joint until one of them saw Ajay.

"Oh shit."

The two quickly got up and got into different meditative poses. The one on the ground with the mohawk and scarf performed a traditional meditation pose and was chanting "Ohm namah Shivayah." The second one, with a goatee and scar by his eye, was doing a standing pose, quickly tapped the play button on a radio and meditative music began to play.

"Welcome my brother. You've come to a place of peace, where the demons of modern life cannot reach you. You are safe here." Said the one guy with the scar on his face.

The one with the mohawk quickly got up and approached Ajay.

"Our friend! Ohm namah Shivayah, Ohm namah Shivayah! He comes from afar seeking—seeking answers. We can give him those answers."

The two foreigners now stood side by side. Their eyes were closed and their hands were put together in prayer.

"For a nominal fee."

"Right nothing in life is free."

"I'm sensing—"

"WE are sensing . . ."

"We are sensing . . . you want to know who we are. Right. I am Yogi and this is Reggie."

"But you stranger . . . you're the son of a legend." Reggie said. Realization was slowly forming on his face.

"What?" Yogi asked confused.

"I see a world of danger . . . a fallen demon . . . and a mother with a blackened heart. You're Ajay Ghale!" Reggie announced excitedly. "Welcome to Guru Ashram! What are you doing here?"

"This is my parents' house. Why don't you guys get out." Ajay said annoyed. The house was a complete mess. It would take hours to clean up and Yogi and Reggie were likely responsible.

The two backed up in surprise and a little fear. They had confused looks on their faces.

"What? Why does he want us to get out?" Yogi asked Reggie.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?"

"You ask him."

"No you."

Ajay was starting to lose patience with these potheads. "Hey I'm standing right here!"

"Oh he's right here. Good for him. He knows where he is."

Ajay walked forward menacingly, causing the two British guys to step back and make way.

"Okay welcome. Come in." Reggie said timidly.

"Yeah . . . after all, tu casa es tu casa."

"Um we'll clean up . . . we'll be out of your hair in a bit."

"But first, let's have a little peace pipe while we hash out the details?" Yogi pulled out a bong and lighter. "You're into this sort of thing right?"

Yogi and Reggie smiled innocently at Ajay as Yogi held out the bong. Ajay looked at the bong and then at Yogi and Reggie. "You know what I think I'm okay." Yogi and Reggie's smiles faded. Ajay wasn't exactly against doing drugs, he did a little back in the USA, but never really got fully into the stuff. "So what are you guys doing here anyway?"

Yogi and Reggie started to fidget and for some reason looked like they were about to panic.

Reggie spoke up. "Ah Ajay, we represent the interests of a certain power broker."

"Right, she'd like to press the flesh as it were. A little meet and greet." Yogi said.

"You being the meat."

Ajay stared puzzlingly at the two, not fully catching what they were throwing. Yogi and Reggie realized this and just scratched their heads awkwardly.

"Well we tried the carrot."

"Guess he wants the stick then."

Reggie then stabbed Ajay in the neck with a syringe.

"Hey! What . . . what the fuck . . . was that?"

Ajay's vision became fuzzy and things looked to be slowing down. Ajay's body suddenly became very heavy and slowly hit the floor. He lied down on his back in a groggy stupor. Reggie and Yogi were looking down on him.

"So much for the easy way." Yogi said in a deep and echoy voice.

"They do say, winners don't do drugs."

. . .

Slowly Ajay regained consciousness. As he was getting his bearings back he could here muffled cheers all around him. The place he was in was archaic and lit with a candlelight ambience. As Ajay stood up he finally took notice of the ropes tied around his wrists and the ropes being held by two topless women. And on a more awkward note, he was naked.

"Oh man, this better not be some weird BDSM show." Ajay said uneasily.

They stood in front of two giant golden doors that began to slowly open.

"People of Kyrat . . ." A woman's voice shouted. "Who do you cheer for? The brave elephants?" The two topless women began to drag Ajay toward the silhouette of the woman who was shouting. "Or the fierce tigers? Or do you cheer for the Royal Army? Son of the terrorist Mohan Ghale, favored son of King Min, Butcher of Banapur, killer of innocent men, women, and children."

Ajay continued to resist the tug and yanks of the two women, as they got closer to the arena, Ajay finally realized it was Noore they were dragging him to. The Governor of the south-west part of Kyrat. They finally reach Noore and the women pushed him down onto his hands and knees as Noore started to present Ajay.

"He abandoned his people to live in the decadence of America, but he returns to face judgment. Your judgement, people of Kyrat!" Noore grabbed Ajay by the rope and dragged him to the edge overlooking the entire arena. "Ajay Ghale!" Noore shouted his name. Ajay could see all the people sitting on the walls of the ancient place. The crowds burst into louder cheers as Ajay was presented to them in all his glory. After hearing of his fighting prowess many were eager to see what he could do in the Arena.

"Noore, what the hell are you doing?! What is this?"

"This is the Arena Mr. Ghale. Here you will be judged." Noore said indifferently.

"Judged? By who?"

Noore smiled wickedly. "Me of course."

"And does Pagan know what you're doing?"

Noore's smile actually widened. "Oh I made sure he did. After all, I wouldn't want him to miss you being mauled to death."

"You know if something happens to me, Pagan is going to kill you." Ajay glared.

"It'd be worth it to even get a glimpse of that man suffering. From what I hear you're pretty good, but let's see how fortunate you are in an enclosed space, surrounded by men and animals. Some people believe you can make a difference here, Ajay. This will be the moment of truth."

Noore motioned for one of her girls to release Ajay from his binds.

"I'm supposed to fight without a weapon?!"

Noore pulled a kukri out from behind her and threw it into the sand down below. "No one can say I'm unsporting. Wouldn't be much of a show if you died too early anyway. And Ajay . . . welcome to Shanath Arena!"

Ajay was shoved into the arena and hit the ground hard. Not having time to acknowledge his pain, Ajay quickly grabbed the tossed kukri and got ready for anything.

"Let the betting begin!"

The horn blew signaling the start of the round. The doors opened letting many fighters into the Arena. Most of them were Royal soldiers, but some were covered in green and blue paint. Both the soldiers and the painted men started firing on each other.

Ajay quickly hid behind one of the makeshift wooden barricades. He had figured out that there were teams in these fights, but he himself was free for anyone.

While the fighters were busy trying to kill each other, none had noticed Ajay yet.

"I need a weapon." One fighter backed up next to the barricade and Ajay quickly pulled him over and stabbed him in the chest. Ajay then took the dead fighter's AK-47. "This'll do."

Even though Ajay now had a gun, he was not detected yet and he wanted to take advantage of that. While everyone was killing each other, Ajay snuck around the fighters until he found a lone soldier. Ajay shoved his blade in the man's back and then pulled out his pistol and shot three fighters.

The crowd cheered and started to throw ammo and red barrels into the arena.

The shooting alerted everyone to his location and Ajay quickly got into cover. Though they were shooting him, many were still fighting each other. Ajay saw another lone fighter and quickly stabbed him before throwing his knife at a nearby soldier. Ajay jumped back into cover before he was riddled with holes.

Ajay popped out of cover shooting two fighters and slowing down one. There were now three fighters left and they were all shooting at Ajay. The bullets were breaking through the wooden barricade, so Ajay decided to run and find better cover up in the higher area. Ajay run-and-gunned as he went for cover. He got lucky and killed two fighters. One in the head and the other was caught in a red barrel explosion.

"So that's what those are for." Ajay looked to his left and saw a red barrel right next to him. "Oh shit."

The last fighter shot the barrel next to Ajay and yelled in victory as it exploded.

"I won! I won!" The fighter shouted, but he stopped when he realized that there was no announcement of the match's end. "Wait. Didn't I kill him?" The fighter had come down from his victory high and finally started to hear the crowd shouting at him. It was hard to hear, what with them shouting over each other, but he focused enough to hear them say one sentence.

"Behind you!"

The last fighter turned around too late as Ajay shoved his kukri into the fighter's throat.

"You've got spirit Mr. Ghale. Let's see if we can break it! Alert the menagerie. Let the second round of betting begin!"

The horn blew once again and many fighters came out of several doors. This time, however, a pack of wolves joined the fray.

Ajay quickly hid behind cover and looked for another opportunity. Ajay looked at his current arsenal. He had a kukri, curtesy of Noore. An AK-47, with a couple magazines and a shotgun, with only so many shells, that he got from the last fighter. Two grenades and molotov cocktails that a spectator was kind enough to throw him. All in all, not bad, but could be better.

The wolves were fighting with the soldiers in a big cluster in the middle of the arena. The wolves were biting and clawing and the soldiers were shooting and panicking. It was total bedlam out there. Ajay smiled as he got a perfect idea. He pulled out one of his grenades and tossed it into the group of men and wolves. The grenade exploded and turned the fighters and wolves into chunks. As a bonus, the explosion reached a barrel and as a chain reaction exploded too, hitting nearby fighters with shrapnel.

Ajay couldn't enjoy his swift victory yet as two wolves attacked him. One pounced on top of him the other was trying to chew on his leg. Ajay grunted through the pain as he started to beat the wolf off of him. He punched the canine in the face knocking it off. Ajay grabbed his kukri and shoved it into the head of the wolf that was biting his foot. He tried to stab the second wolf, but it bit him on the wrist preventing him from attacking further, but he still had his other hand. Ajay grabbed for his new shotgun and fired on the wolf at point blank.

Ajay was seriously injured. His left foot and wrist were really hurting and he had nothing to fix himself with. There were still fighters around and no doubt they knew his location from all the commotion. He was a sitting duck.

"Here take this!" A med-kit was thrown in front of him by one of the spectators. "I got a lot riding on you!" The spectator shouted. Ajay was never more thankful for human greed. Quickly taking out a syringe, Ajay injected himself and felt better in seconds.

Ajay stood up and fired his shotgun at a running fighter. Ajay then ran right to the ledge and jumped off it impaling his kukri into the neck of a fighter. Ajay then pulled the pin off the dead fighter's grenade and kicked the corpse into a nearby barrel. Ajay quickly got out of the blast radius as many of the fighters were bathed in the huge explosion.

Two beheaders came running at Ajay with raised blades. Ajay pulled out his own kukri, accepting their challenge.

Ajay blocked the first attack and then deflected the second. The two tried to flank, Ajay, but he managed to dance around them to prevent them from getting the drop on him. Ajay deflected another strike and then kicked one beheader to the ground. Ajay and the standing beheader clashed and tried to push the other down. The beheader roared in Ajay's face, but he was unperturbed. In response, Ajay headbutted the beheader, knocking him to the ground.

Just in time too, as the second beheader got up and went on the attack. Ajay ducked underneath the slash and cut at the man's side. The beheader grabbed his side, trying to stop the bleeding. Ajay went on the offensive and started viciously swiping at the beheader. The beheader blocked to the best of his ability, but was too slow and lost his hand to Ajay's attack.

The beheader screamed in pain at the loss of his hand. Before Ajay could finish the poor bastard off, the other beheader had gotten up and threw a knife at Ajay. Ajay quickly ducked and the blade imbedded itself in the skull of the handless beheader. Now a dead handless beheader. Ajay pulled out the throwing knife and threw it right back at its owner, finding its way into the man's heart. The beheader clutched the knife before he fell to ground dead.

The crowd cheered in utter excitement. They wanted more. They wanted to see more blood and violence! And Noore was happy to give it to them

"Well done, Ajay!" Noore's voice echoed over the entire Arena. "But there is still more yet to come. More blood! More death! Are you ready people!?" The crowd cheered even louder in agreement. "Star betting. Let the third match begin!"

Ajay twirled the kukri in his hand and pulled out a molotov cocktail.

"Bring it on!" Ajay roared as he tossed the fire grenade into the open door.

. . .

"Noore! What is the meaning of this!?"

Noore turned around to see Pagan Min followed by two Royal Guards walking up to her.

"King Min. It's been a while since you've graced us with you presence." Noore said in a condescendingly polite tone.

"Don't play games with me Noore!" Pagan threatened. "Why did you put my boy here in your Arena?"

"Why not?" Noore shrugged. "No one is excluded from the matches. Even Royal Army join in on the fights."

"Yes, but the soldiers are volunteers. Ajay is buck-naked and was tossed in there against his will! Pull him out right now!"

Noore smiled. "I don't think the audience would like that King Min. They seem to enjoy watching him fight. However . . . I'd be more then willing to let him out in exchange for my family."

Pagan glared at Noore. So that was her game.

"Ajay is like family to you, yes? Well family for family."

Pagan continued to glare at the former doctor, but then sighed in exasperation. He walked up and stood right next to Noore, getting a better view of the fight.

"No deal. Ajay is a tough boy, he won't fall so easily." Pagan said confidently.

Noore just kept smiling. "As you say." Noore then spoke into her microphone. "Send out the tigers and elites for the next round."

"What!?"

"Where did that confidence go Pagan? If Ajay lives his acclaim will skyrocket. If he dies . . ."

"Then you die." Pagan said seriously. Deadly seriously.

Noore frowned a little, but shrugged indifferently.

"Then you will know what it's like to lose family."

"I ALREADY KNOW WHAT THAT'S LIKE!" Pagan spat.

"Then you can end this now by brining me my family, Pagan."

Pagan just continued to glare. His silence was his answer and the King continued to watch Ajay's battle.

. . .

Ajay stood by the corner of the third door, where none of the contestants would see him when they exited the waiting rooms. Ajay was wrapping some gauze around his arm after he got chewed on by a honey badger. Ajay had to repair and heal himself so much that he was starting to look like a mummy with chicken pox.

He had already gone through a total of four fights and the final fifth one would start any second. Ajay saw Pagan standing alongside Noore. Ajay saw his step-father wave at him and then shrug in surrender. Ajay was not going to get help, so all he could do was fight and get to the end.

Throughout most of the fights, Ajay tried to conserve his ammo and explosives and relied mostly on his kukri. Only shooting when absolutely necessary. Like when he was hiding and some honey badgers found him and he had no choice, but to shoot them, because their skin was so tough that a blade would not pierce them.

"Let the fifth round begin!"

Ajay took a deep breath to prepare himself. "Okay, let's do this."

Ajay waited in a dark corner where no could see him. The fighters came charging out shooting at anything that moved. Much to Ajay's ire several heavies came out as well. And to Ajay's dread, three tigers charged out of one of the larger doors and were already tearing into the fighters.

"Great! Wolves, honey badgers, and now tigers. I think I'll leave the heavies to those." While everyone was distracted by the tigers, Ajay glided across the arena stabbing and cutting any fighter that was in arms reach.

By now, Ajay had killed six fighters. Ajay saw a couple of fighters near a barrel and shot it with his assault rifle. Making it explode and killing the fighters.

"ROAR!"

Ajay looked to the side and was too late to stop one of the tigers from pouncing on him. The tiger roared in Ajay's face and Ajay quickly slashed the tiger's face with his kukri. The tiger jumped back in pain, but continued to growl and roar.

Ajay need to get some distance and jumped off the ledge, then fire his assault rifle at the tiger while he backpedaled away from the giant feline. The tiger shrugged off the bullets and chased after Ajay.

"What is with these animals? Are they drugged!?" Ajay exclaimed. "No matter what I do it's like they don't feel pain." Ajay unfortunately ran out of ammo in his assault rifle and had no time to reload. The tiger charged right at Ajay. Thinking fast, Ajay held the gun by the barrel and swung it like a bat. The tiger was hit right in the face, knocking out a few of its sharp teeth. The tiger stumbled a bit as it was disoriented from the blow. Ajay's assault rifle was now ruined so he tossed it aside and pulled out his kukri.

Ajay pounced onto the tigers back, making it buck and roar in anger. The crowd cheered seeing Ajay play rodeo with the tiger. Ajay held onto dear life as the tiger tried to get him off. Ajay held up his kukri and began stabbing at the tigers neck and back. It took seven blows, but the tiger finally went down and Ajay, for good measure, buried his blade in the cat's head.

"I'm gonna kill you, Ghale!" Ajay quickly rolled off the tiger and used its body as a meat shield. There was one heavy left. The big guy had killed the other tigers with his LMG and was now spraying bullets at Ajay.

To buy time, Ajay pulled out a molotov and chucked it at the heavy gunner. It was a direct hit and the gunner was engulfed in flames. Being encased in so much armor, the man was not hurting physically, but he was roasting like an oven. While the gunner tried to put himself out, Ajay pulled out his shotgun and rapid-fired as he slowly marched toward the heavy. The heavy tried to pull up his gun, but the force of the shotgun blasts kept knocking him back. One shot, two shots, three shots, four shots, the fifth shot came and blew off the man's helmet. Ajay's shotgun clicked signaling it was empty.

Before the gunner could retaliate, without even thinking, Ajay batted the heavy in the head with the butt of the gun. Knocking the heavy on his back. Ajay tossed aside the shotgun and pulled out his kukri. Ajay quickly grabbed the man by the head swiped his blade across the man's neck and presented the severed head to the screaming crowd for all to see.

. . .

Pagan was practically bursting at the seams with laughter. He forgot how entertaining this kind of thing could be.

"Well Noore, it looks like my boy has taken everything you've thrown at him and come out on top." Pagan said smugly. "Now I think it's time you announce the end of this shindig."

Noore was frowning deeply. She had not really expected Ajay to actually survive all the way. Especially after taking all his clothes and weapons. But then Noore smiled serenely, causing Pagan to frown at the change in mood of the woman known as "The Slave."

"You're right Pagan. I think it is time to put an end to this."

Noore walked to the end of the parapet for all to see her. She looked around at the screaming crowds who were just in an uproar of bloody excitement. Danger, violence, death. These were the things people came to see. WHY they came to the Arena. It was like a drug to them. Getting high on all the blood and death. As much as Noore was ashamed to admit it, she had become quite intoxicated by these things too. Which is what would make this next part all the easier.

"People of Kyrat! This has been a glorious battle. Ajay Ghale has proven a formidable gladiator in the Arena. Tell me are you entertained?" The crowd screamed in approval. "I said, are you entertained!?" The crowd screamed even louder this time. "Then why stop here? Why not one more battle?" The crowd screamed for more.

"Noore, what are you doing?!" Pagan yelled.

"Then I say, let's give Ajay Ghale a fight that will either make him or break him!"

The horn blew signaling a six round. Ajay was in the lower area of the arena and quickly hid behind one of the wooden barricades. The lower giant door opened and revealed a beast of immeasurable strength and stamina. Covered in scars of past fights, harpoons imbedded in its armored skin, and a yellow rope loosely tied around its face and neck. It was a rare asian rhino.

"People of Kyrat, I give you the unstoppable killing machine, the Rampager of Shanath, and one of the most infamous creatures to grace out land: KARKADANN!"

The rhino stamped its front foot and charged straight at Ajay.

"Oh shit." Ajay quickly jumped out of the way as the rhino destroyed the barricade with ease.

"This beast had killed ten of my men, before they were finally able to subdue it. But once we had it in captivity, it killed three more of my animal caretakers." Noore explained to the crowd. "Karkadann is named for the mythological beast that was said to be indestructible. So come on Ajay Ghale. Show us you true potential and stop this unstoppable monster."

"Noore! Get Ajay out of their now!" Pagan raged.

"No! Give me my family or Ajay stays down there with that rhino."

"You dare make demands of me!"

"Pagan!" Noore and Pagan looked down at Ajay, who shouted at them. "I got this!" Ajay said.

The two were bewildered by Ajay's words. He wanted to fight Karkadann in such enclosed spaces?! Pagan wanted to object, but seeing Ajay's serious and determined face prevented him from speaking out.

Ajay fired bullets into the rhino with an assault rifle that he picked up. He kept firing until it ran out, but the bullets hardly even affected the pachyderm. And it certainly didn't slow the rare creature down as Ajay had to jump away from it. While its back was turned Ajay threw a molotov at it, lighting the beast on fire, which just agitated Karkadann even more.

"Great now it's a FLAMING charging rhino!" Ajay cursed. Ajay got to the lower ground and picked up a fallen shotgun and blasted Karkadann. The rhino shrugged off the buckshots easily.

Ajay was running out of weapons. He kept picking up fallen weapons and emptying them on the rhino, but no matter how many bullets that impacted Karkadann, nothing fazed the armored giant.

Ajay shot some explosive barrels that Karkadann ran by, but the huge explosions did nothing to stop it. Ajay quickly jumped out of the way again and then threw a grenade under the beast. The grenade exploded underneath Karkadann and while it stumbled a bit from the explosion all it really did was make it madder.

Karkadann charged again and this time managed to hit Ajay. Ajay was knocked away with a huge gash on his shoulder. Ajay gripped his shoulder as the rhino not only cut him, but had dislodged his shoulder from its socket. Karkadann was coming at him again, so to buy time Ajay threw his last molotov at the rhino. Blinding it in fire.

Ajay quickly found a hiding spot. He needed to fix his arm before going back out there. He grabbed a piece of wood and bit down hard on it. Setting himself next to a pillar, Ajay braced himself before smashing his shoulder against the pillar, thus setting his shoulder back at the cost of great pain.

"MMMMMM!" Ajay grit his teeth in pain. He then injected himself with a pain reliever to keep fighting.

Ajay stood up and grabbed a shotgun someone was nice enough to drop into the arena. Karkadann had recovered from the molotov and was now searching for the one that burned it.

"Hey over here!" Karkadann looked over to Ajay who was standing next to the parapet in the middle of the stadium. Karkadann bellowed and charged full speed at Ajay. Ajay waited until the last moment until he jumped onto the ledge and pulled himself up. Karkadann hit the wall with great force.

Ajay then jumped onto the beast, much to the annoyance and anger of Karkadann. The crowd was cheering at seeing Ajay bull riding a rhino. Ajay held on for dear life as the rhino bucked and shifted violently to get the human off. Ajay grabbed onto one of the harpoons lodged in Karkadaan's skin and before Karkadann managed to get him off Ajay had put two buckshots into the rhino's head. It wasn't dead, but it was severely bleeding.

As Ajay was thrown off he pried out one of the harpoons at the same time. Ajay quickly stood up and held the harpoon like a spear. Ajay thrusted it trying to make the rhino backup and Karkadann was thrusting its horn for the same reason.

Both Ajay and Karkadann roared at each other. Karkadann moved first and tried to impale Ajay with its horn, but Ajay managed to jump to the side and then with great strength, thrusted the harpoon into one of the only visible soft parts of Karkadann: its eye.

Karkadaan bellowed in pain and thrashed around violently, the harpoon still lodged in its eyesocket. Ajay took several steps back to stay clear of the rhino. He backed up all the way to the stone pillar he used to set his shoulder back into place. Once Karkadann calmed down enough the rhino tried to focus on Ajay with its one good eye. It dragged its foot on the ground getting ready to charge. Ajay could see it was determined to kill him.

Karkadann charged, its horn lowered to impale Ajay. Everyone held their breath as they waited for Ajay to move, but as the distance lessened between Ajay and Karkadann the more people grew worried. Ajay smirked and at the very last second leaped out of the way. Karkadann's horn just grazed him and everyone let out the breath they were holding.

Karkadann's horn imbedded in the stone pillar. It grunted as it tried to get free. With a little effort it pulled free. The rhino turned to face Ajay again who was just standing with his arms crossed, smiling. As if he had already won.

A loud crack was heard. Karkadaan turned its head to see what the weird noise was. Behind the rhino, the pillar it collided with began to fall forward. Karkadann was too slow to move out of the way so the giant stone pillar fell right on top of it.

With a loud crash the pillar fell and Karkadann's roar could be heard. A dust cloud spread over the arena. Ajay and the audience waited for the dust to clear and when it did, they saw the rare rhino covered in rubble, with only its head and left front leg exposed. Karkadann was alive, but deathly injured.

Ajay slowly walked up to the rare animal. Though Karkadann was alive it made no movement against Ajay, even as he was mere inches from its head. Ajay looked at the magnificent creature. He saw the fire still burning in its eyes, but it knew that it was finished. Ajay put his hand on the rhino's face and slowly caressed it. Karkadann leaned into it, enjoying the comfort. It looked into Ajay's eyes and Ajay knew then and there what it wanted.

It's suffering to end.

Ajay nodded receiving the silent message. Ajay took out his blade and first removed the ropes around its head so that it could die with some dignity. When that was done, Ajay pressed the blade in between the rhino's natural armor by its neck and then slowly pressed into the soft flesh.

Karkadann groaned in pain and slowly the life left the great rhino's eyes.

Ajay removed his kukri and bowed his head in respect to the noble beast.

Suddenly, Ajay's thoughts were interrupted by the roaring of a screaming crowd. Blue and orange smoke shot into the air signaling the end of the fights. The audience was in a total uproar. Seeing Ajay fight was a complete rush for them and they enjoyed every minute of his matches. Many chanted Ajay's name as flower petals rained down from the ceiling.

Ajay took it all in and raised his hands in the air as a champion would.

Their praises were sweet to him. Almost as sweet as victory.

. . .

Noore was about to approach the edge of the parapet, but was stopped by Min's personal guards.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I'll handle this one, Noore. Because Ajay's alive you get to live for now, but I'll be taking the winnings you earned for this tournament. All that you've earned today. And considering I was betting on Ajay I believe I'm taking home quite a lot of cash today!" Pagan laughed as he made his way to the edge. Noore was shouting profanities at Pagan for stealing from her.

Pagan spread his arms out as he announced the crowd. "My loyal subjects. Thank you all for coming and showing your support for my dear boy, Ajay. At least, those who betted on him. After witnessing it with your own eyes, I hope this has proven to you the indomitable power that Ajay wields. All alone, Ajay took on the Arena's most elite and vicious. And even though on the brink of exhaustion, he had enough strength to take on a legendary beast of Kyrat. Can you get any more impressive then that! In honor of Ajay's great battle performance, his fighting prowess and his ability to kill and survive . . . as King I bestow upon him the title of Arena Master Champion!"

The crowd burst into cheers accepting the new title for the brand new arena fighter.

Ajay smiled proudly and once again raised his hands in the air and let the admiration wash over him.

. . .

Ajay was now fully dressed and got his original weapons back. Pagan came up to him and put his hands on Ajay's shoulders.

"You did amazing, my boy." Pagan chuckled and hugged Ajay. "You had me worried a few times, but you don't die easily do you. And that fight with Karkadann? Oh! Even I had chills when you beat that freak of nature."

"Thanks. Where's Noore?"

"Eager to see her? So am I. She's waiting in her study, like I commanded her too. If she's not there my guards are to shoot her on site. You let me handle that little monkey, Ajay. You've been through enough. Why don't you head back to your homestead, I sent someone to clear out the two rats that are infesting the place, so don't worry. Go. Relax. Take a load off. I insist."

As much as Ajay wanted to get back at Noore, it was the two British pot-heads that he really wanted to see. Pagan could handle Noore.

"Alright." Ajay said. Pagan clapped Ajay on the back and headed for Noore's study.

"I'll see you later Ajay." Pagan waved.

Ajay made his way out of Shanath Arena. A crowd of people stood outside the front doors cheering his name. Men bowed respectively and women eyed Ajay seductively. While being put in the Arena wasn't exactly his idea, Ajay couldn't argue with the results. Whatever Noore was trying to accomplish by putting him in that hole, it backfired immensely. It felt good to be the Champion.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **So I am huge fan of the Far Cry story "Reborn a King" by havok038. And his latest chapter has some similar parallels to this chapter. I just want to come out and say that this is a complete coincidence and that I had planned for Karkadann to fight in the Arena a long time ago. I talked with havok about this and he completely understands that it is a big coincidence. So just incase anyone thinks I'm plagiarizing, just know that havok and me are cool and neither of us is mooching off each other.**

 **I really suggest you all go and read his story, "Reborn a King." It is really good and doesn't get enough credit in my opinion. It's a real different take on Ajay's story and the dude updates faster then any author I've seen and known!**

 **Also if anyone is curious about that ending scene with Karkadann, I have a soft spot for rhinos. They are majestic creatures that are very close to extinction and Karkadaan's appearance always made me sad. So I gave the rhino a peaceful sendoff, instead of just outright killing it.**


	9. Of Drugs and Demons

**Chapter 9**

 **Of Drugs and Demons**

 _Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time._

After leaving that fiasco at Shanath Arena and leaving Noore to Pagan, Ajay marched straight back to the Ghale Homestead. Ajay kept scratching the handle of his gun, eager to see the two con-artists, Yogi and Reggie.

Ajay approached the front door of his family home and was about to barge right in, but stopped when he heard something shatter and then someone scream inside.

"Ahh! No! Please, no!"

Ajay pulled out a handgun and barged right into the house.

"Still alive motherfuckers!"

But to Ajay's surprise when he walked in, he saw Reggie on the floor dead and Yogi who had been stabbed in the gut by Yuma. Yogi grunted and coughed out blood before falling to the floor dead. Yuma removed her blade from Yogi and then wiped the blood off her knife with Yogi's jacket.

"Ajay, good to see you."

"Yuma? What are you doing here?" Ajay asked.

"Pagan told me you were drugged and sent to Shanath Arena to fight. Pagan went to deal with Noore and I volunteered to deal with these two pests."

"Why?"

"Because I find you interesting and if something were to happen to you, Pagan might break down again. Noore and these two idiots nearly risked that. So it was a pleasure to kill them." Yuma said.

"Uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it. Also congratulations on becoming the Arena Champion. I heard you went through six rounds and fought a rare animal in the last. Very impressive." Yuma complimented, adding a bit of a purr to that last sentence.

"Word sure travels fast around here."

"The Arena is always a big topic, especially when something really big happens. Like the favored man of the King surviving the Arena and killing a rare animal at the end. That'll definitely get everyone's attention." Yuma smirked.

"Well, thanks for dealing with them, I guess." Ajay looked around his house. "Ugh, I still need to clean this place up though. It's gonna be a pain."

"Get some help from the Palace. I'm sure Pagan wouldn't mind sparing a few servants." Yuma began to search through Yogi's attire and pulled out a large wad of cash. "Here." Yuma through the stack of money to Ajay. "He must have betetd on you at the Arena. Shame he'd never get to use it."

Ajay caught the money and nodded his head in thanks. He then drew his attention to a big, decorative, wooden frame on the wall. It was huge and took up most of the wall's space.

Ajay brushed his hand across the antique frame. "Do you know what was here before? One of those thangkas?" Ajay asked.

Yuma looked up from scavenging the two druggies and perked up instantly. "Now that's something special to tell. Has anyone ever told you about your family?"

Ajay looked confused by that. "You mean my mom and dad?"

"Technically yes, but no. I mean your heritage and descendants. Has anyone ever told you the history of the Ghale family?" Yuma explained.

"No." Ajay never really gave it much thought about his family tree. He only knew his father was once part of the Royal Guard and started the Golden Path. Other than that not much else.

"The Ghale family is one of the oldest in Kyrat. Some say you are descended from Kalinag himself."

"Kalinag?" Ajay could have sworn he heard that name from somewhere.

"The most legendary man in the entire country. They say he traveled to paradise. To Shanri-La. Consider it like, the spirit world version of Kyrat. Where you go to achieve everlasting peace. When he arrived at Shangri-La he defeated demons, also called Rakshasa. He fought them in a huge war and then returned to the earth where he told his story to a monk, who painted the story in the form of a thangka." Yuma walked up to the frame and caressed it. "The thangka was gifted to the King of Kyrat, by Kalinag himself, after it was made. The thangka was a national treasure, but once the Nationalists took over, Mohan Ghale made off with the Kalinag Thangka. Not wanting it to be in the hands of those traitors. He had it hung on this wall for many years until Pagan showed up."

Ajay noticed how awed and breathless Yuma was. He could tell that Yuma was very into the legend of Kalinag. Almost like she was in love with the legend. Ajay had to admit, it was a good story, if you were interested in fairy tales. But the thangka belonged to his family and by rights, belonged to him.

"So where is it?" Ajay asked.

Yuma suddenly removed her hand from the frame, almost like it burned her. She looked at Ajay and then began to pace the room. Ajay stared weirdly at her, but waited for her to speak.

Yuma stopped in the center of the room and sighed. She pulled out a piece of old paper from her jacket.

"The Kalinag Thangka was torn to pieces and hidden across the country by persons unknown. Mohan didn't want Pagan getting ahold of such a valued relic." Yuma said. "Before I killed these two idiots," Yuma motioned to the dead Yogi and Reggie, "they tried to bribe me with this." Yuma showed Ajay the piece of paper, which turned out to be an old map of Kyrat with five "X" marks on it.

"It's a map leading to the thangka pieces. I asked them how they had gotten a hold of this and they said when they first arrived here in Kyrat an old guru gave it to them. Thankfully they hadn't used it for a rolling paper or some other drug-related thing. I have been searching for these paintings for years Ajay and at long last I can experience Shangri-La as Kalinag did." Yuma's excitement quickly died down as she looked at Ajay.

"I wasn't going to tell you Ajay because I wanted to keep this for myself. But after what you've done for Pagan and his Royal Army . . ." Yuma handed Ajay the map. "I think it's only fitting that you get your family legacy back." Ajay reached for the map, but Yuma took it back at the lasts second. "But I still want to see it. I spent years looking for this thing, so I expect to at least see it." Yuma then handed the map to Ajay.

Ajay looked at the map and saw one of the thangkas was not far.

"One of the thangkas is nearby. It's just on an island not too far from here."

"I know, I sent some of my men to retrieve it. If you hurry you might be able to catch them." Yuma pulled out a set of keys. "Here, take my gyrocopter. It'll get you there faster."

"You're not coming?" Ajay asked.

"You said you'd bring it back. I've waited this long, why not a bit longer? Besides I still need to clean up my mess."

"Thanks Yuma."

"Don't mention it."

With that Ajay went off to find the first thangka painting.

. . .

Ajay had landed on the island and began to search for the thangka's location in the southern part of the island. Ajay's search led him to a hidden cave that he saw in the distance, but before he could approach the cave, he noticed something odd. It was quiet. Too quiet.

*Whistle*

"Shit!"

*Whistle!*

Ajay quickly dived behind a tree, narrowly dodging a hail of arrows that landed right where he just was.

"Hunters." Ajay said as he pulled out his D2 shotgun.

"You're gonna die here Traitor!" One of the hunters shouted.

Ajay heard a screech come from above him and saw a black eagle swoop down on him. Before the bird of prey could put its talons in him, Ajay blasted it with his double-barrel shotgun. Killing it at very close range.

"You're gonna have to try better than that!" Ajay taunted as he reloaded his shotgun. He had no idea how many rebels there were so he needed to flush them out.

Ajay pulled out a grenade and after pulling it pin, chucked it in the direction of the Golden Path.

"Grenade!"

The hunters quickly ran out of cover to escape the blast, but two then were mowed down by Ajay's assault rifle fire. Ajay then went back behind the tree. He saw how many hunters there were as they ran from the grenade.

"Okay so there were five, I killed two so now there are three."

Ajay then ran out of cover and sprayed bullets in the direction of the hunters. He managed to hit one in the head, but one of the hunters managed to shoot him in the arm. Ajay skidded behind a rock and pulled out the arrow.

"Two left. Time to get serious." Ajay mumbled as he pulled out his shotgun.

"You see him?" One of the hunters asked.

"No, but he's behind that rock there. We'll circle him and flank him."

"He's just one guy! How can one man do so much damage?"

"Doesn't matter. After Banapur, every rebel wants this guy's head. He's a traitor and deserves to be put down like a-ARGH!"

The Hunter looked to his left to see his friend dead with a knife imbedded in his neck. The last remaining Hunter started to panic, but stopped dead when he felt the barrel of a gun pressed against his back.

"You guys talk too much you know that?"

"Wait! Wait! Don't kill me please!" The Hunter begged.

"And why shouldn't I? If I recall, you're the one that shot me with an arrow."

"I have information? I'll trade it for my life."

That got Ajay's interest, but he didn't remove his gun from the man's back. "Talk."

"So we have a deal?"

"Let me hear what the info is. I'm not making a deal with a man who may very well be lying to me." Ajay pressed his D2 shotgun into the man's back. "Now talk."

"Your Royal Army is searching for Amita and Sabal right?"

"Yeah?"

"They won't find them. At least not here in Kyrat."

"So they have a base in some other country?"

"No. A few weeks ago Sabal sent an expedition crew to look for some lost sacred location that was very important to the Kyarti people. Sabal put the mission on hold when he heard you were coming to the country. They found it a week ago, before your attack on Banapur."

"Where is this sacred location?"

"I-in the mountains. I don't know where! It's a secret know only to high ranking members of the Golden Path and only so many rebels have gone there."

Well at least it was something and it explained why they couldn't find the two rebel leaders. They were out of reach and hidden in the mountains, they could be anywhere.

"That's all you know?"

"That's all I know!" The Hunter squealed. "So can I leave now?"

". . . . No."

"What?! Why!? I told you what I know."

"Yes you did, but not enough to really help, but you gave us a start. Besides, rule number one in the Royal Army. Never make deals with terrorists." Ajay said simply.

"You son of a—"

*BANG*

With the Hunters now out of the way, Ajay headed toward the cave. He came across Yuma's men, who were all dead and riddles with arrows. That explains what happened to them.

Ajay went deeper into the cave and came to a pair of doors. The doors were ten feet tall, red and gold, and in the center of them was a snarling demon like head that practically exuded warning signals. Ajay nevertheless pushed the doors open and entered a very tranquil room. The room was decorated with many traditional accessories, including bells, prayer flags, mani-wheels, etc. The walls were aligned with cubby like shelves and the floors were symmetrically aligned with sitting pillows. On the far side of the room was a sign that said "Kalinag's Wisdom" in kyrati and a statue of a Kyrati warrior holding a scroll container.

Ajay grabbed the cylindrical container and opened it. He unfurled the large parchment that was inside, which revealed to be the first thangka painting. The painting revealed to be a white tiger surrounded by fire. Suddenly Ajay's vision became white and blurry and before he knew it, everything became weightless.

 _Ajay had a vision. About a Kyrati man traveling through the harshest and coldest mountain. On the brink of death he still searched for paradise: Shangri-La. He was Kalinag, a man sent by his king to search for this paradise. At the end of the mountain his search came to an end as he jumped off the cliff and dived into the freezing water. Everything went black, but he still kept swimming down and down and down and down until down became up. And he swam up and up and up as he was engulfed in colorful lights, schools of fish swam around him, as if forming a tunnel to his destination. He arose from the surface and finally arrived at what he sought: Shangri-La. Truly a paradise, quiet, serene, beautiful beyond words, but something was wrong. It was quiet . . . too quiet. Not the peaceful quiet. A dead quiet. Kalinag moved through paradise and saw a demon slaughtering a poor animal. It hit the already dead animal multiple times with a blind rage. It disappeared as he approached. Then he came upon a beautiful tree surround by a serene pond. But, what drew his attention was the Sky Tiger, the guardian of paradise, adorned in golden ornaments, bloody, beaten, and dying. Kalinag slowly approached the defeated beast and to help it die peacefully, pulled out the strange dagger in its back. When the dagger was removed the Sky Tiger roared and turned to dust that was swept away by the wind. The dagger looked like the fang of some huge beast. Continuing the journey, Kalinag was ambushed by the demon, the rakshasa, but before the rakshasa could kill him, the Sky Tiger returned reborn and mauled the rakshasa. Kalinag knew the beast only saved him to save paradise. With the Sky Tiger at Kalinag's side he continued on and together the two slaughtered the rakshasa in their path. As a boy Kalinag remembered the stories of the Bells of Shangri-La that his parents told him about. Such powerful objects scared him and others as children and still scared them to the day. But, ever since he came to Shangri-La, he had not heard the Bells. He approached two giant mani-wheels. They were so huge they could only be toys meant only for the gods. He spun the wheels which turned the statue of Kyra and revealed the Bell of Shangri-La, but it was restrained. The Sky Tiger led the way towards the Bell, which was guarded by the rakshasa. And leading the rakshasa was an even bigger rakshasa, adorned in the mask of an angry bull and carrying a flaming torch. It blew fire at the Sky Tiger and Kalinag. The Sky Tiger roared and charged straight at the demon and took hold of its weapon, Kalinag decided to aid the beast and circled the rakshasa as it was distracted. Kalinag roared as he buried his blade into The Scorcher's neck and twisted. The Scorcher screeched before it turned into dust in the wind. With the rakshasa all dead Kalinag and Sky Tiger marched up to the Kyra statue and approached the chained Bell. The Bell floated futilely away from the statue only to be pulled away by the chains. Kalinag approached the Bell and with all of his strength struck the chains with his blade. The Bell was free! The rakshasa appeared out of the air and attacked, but before they could reach their target, the Bell rung its beautiful ring and the rakshasa died and turned to dust. Still hearing the hum of the Bell Kalinag started seeing a colorful fog and he was engulfed in it. He kept staring at the beautiful golden Bell of Shangri-La as he disappeared. He was not afraid, after all his journey had only just begun._

Ajay opened his eyes and found himself lying face down on the floor in his parent's home. He saw Yuma examining the now framed thangka piece, but looked at Ajay when she heard him get up. She went over to Ajay and helped him back up to his feet.

"You're awake." Yuma smiled.

Ajay rubbed his head in pain. It felt like he was out all night drinking, but looking at his watch told him he was only out for a couple hours.

"How did I get here?" Ajay asked.

Yuma pointed at the thangka piece. "You just walked in here with a trance-like look on your face." Yuma explained. "I tried talking to you, but you responded in some strange language that I believe was ancient kyrati. I also, tried shaking you, but you still wouldn't snap out of it. After placing the thangka on the wall, you lied down and took a nap."

Ajay couldn't believe he had walked all the way back from the island and didn't even remember a second of that travel.

"Ajay, what happened?"

"I don't know, but it was weird. I picked up the thangka at "Kalinag's Wisdom," the hidden temple for Kalinag, and when I looked at the painting, I saw visions."

"What kind of visions?" Yuma said excitedly.

"I was Kaling—" Ajay was interrupted by Yuma's loud gasp.

"The legends are true." Yuma looked at the thangka. "You experience Shangri-La through Kalinag's eyes. Did you fight Rakshasa?"

"Those demons with golden masks? Yeah I think so." Ajay said unsurely.

Yuma began to laugh and paced around the room excitedly. "So it's true. The thangkas are mystical. They can show you Shangri-La, they can make fight Rakshasa, and turn you into Kalinag. Years of searching and I've finally found them." Yuma approached the thangka.

"There are still four more out there." Ajay reminded.

"Of course. Let me know when you find another, I want to see the complete thangka."

"Why are you so fascinated with this painting? I mean yeah, what is can do is . . . unbelievable. But you seem almost . . ."

"Obsessed?" Yuma scowled.

Ajay was hesitant to answer. "Yeah."

Yuma glared, but then sighed tiredly. "Pagan was broken for years. He stayed in that damned Palace, wallowing in his misery. Never doing anything, but blubbering. I had never seen my brother so weak." Yuma paused for a moment. "And I was so angry! Furious! I looked up to Pagan. He was powerful! Fearless! No one could stand up to him! I proudly called him my brother for years and he just let this country and its people walk all over him." Yuma punched the wall. "After seeing Pagan fall, I was afraid that he would drag me into his despair as well. I wanted to find something, anything, to believe in again. And I found it in Kalinag." Yuma walked up to the thangka piece. "I heard the legend, studied every detail of it . . . and it felt like I was listening to one of Pagan's stories when he was young. Stories of when he was unstoppable. When he was the most feared man among men! I wanted to find the Kalinag Thangka, so I could experience that power and use it to take Kyrat for my own!"

Ajay stared wide-eyed at Yuma. Pagan's second, his own sister had planned to usurp him? Ajay was now a little nervous being in the room with Yuma. She was, if not borderline, obsessed with Kalinag, Kyrat, the whole shebang. After seeing Pagan fall into despair, Yuma wanted power so she wouldn't become weak like Pagan had.

Ajay slowly reached for his gun and kukri incase Yuma tried to pull something.

Though apparently, that was unnecessary, as Yuma took a deep breath started to calm down.

"I talked to Pagan the other day. I asked him about Lakshmana. Did you know that Pagan always wanted a family? His mother died when he was very young and was stuck with his father, Gang Min, who was quite bitter toward Pagan. Pagan was very close to his mother, in fact I think she was the one who introduced him to the color pink, and missed her motherly warmth greatly. His father on the other hand, hated how Pagan acted and tried putting his own son down verbally and sometimes physically. Pagan grew up to be a ruthless man and got whatever he wanted, but I don't think he was ever truly satisfied with the things he got. Though I hated Ishwari for weakening Pagan, I had never seen him smile as much as when he was around her. She gave him the one thing I think he truly sought after: a family that accepted him for who he was."

Yuma turned around and walked right up to Ajay, not even concerned with Ajay reaching for his weapons.

"I had no idea they had a child together. I thought Lakshmana was just some brat Pagan decided to use as a martyr. But I can see how this broke him. I can see this was not Ishwari's fault or Pagan's fault . . . it was Mohan's fault. Mohan and his despicable Golden Path! They ruined my brother! This whole time, Ishwari was sent to spy on Pagan, by Mohan's command. Mohan weakened Pagan and then broke him by killing Lakshmana! He's been dead for years, but I can still make him suffer . . . by killing his Golden Path! And with your aid, Son of Mohan," Yuma said that like Ajay was the greatest weapon in the world, "we will strike down the people that hurt the man we care about and bring forth a new era for Kyrat! Ajay . . . will you help me? Will you help Pagan?"

Ajay was really relieved that this took a different turn. He was quite worried he may have to kill Yuma to protect Pagan, but that was not the case anymore. Ajay could see a renewed vigor in Yuma's brown eyes and he had to say he liked that confidence and power she held in them. He also thought she had a beautiful pair of eyes too.

Ajay didn't even hesitate as he smiled at Yuma. "You don't need to ask. Pagan's like a father to me and I'll do whatever I have to to help him."

Yuma smiled appreciatively and then kissed Ajay on the cheek, making the Kyrati-American blink in surprise. Yuma then cupped Ajay's hands with her own.

"Thank you, Ajay. That means so much to me." Yuma headed toward the door, but paused as she opened it. "I still want to see those thangkas, I spent years looking for them, so I think I deserve to see them, but I don't think they matter anymore. After all, why waste my time on a dead legend, when I have a living future one right in front of me. I'll see you around Ghale." Yuma winked at Ajay and walked out of the Homestead.

When Yuma left, Ajay turned back to the thangka piece he found. It was truly something amazing. Even now he didn't know how he experienced that vision. He wondered if it was truly magic. Ajay couldn't help but wonder what the rest of the thangkas would show him . . . and what the purpose behind them was and meant.

 **Deep in the Himalayan Mountains**

Amita was sitting in her own personal quarters cleaning her favorite gun. It was a modified A99 SMG. It had a red dot sight and a drum barrel for extra rounds. Amita has had this gun for years and had lovingly called this gun "Rebel" after she took it off the body of the first Royal Army soldier that she killed.

Unlike Sabal, she was from the North, which was drastically different then living in the South. She had come from a high-ranking family of the Kyrati Nobility. Unfortunately, her family was against the new King, Pagan Min, and secretly supported the Golden Path. Pagan's second, Yuma, quickly discovered this and silenced her parents. Amita was lucky to escape with her baby sister Bhadra on her back, but she was soon discovered by a few Royal Army soldiers

Thankfully, they were all men and were easily fooled into thinking that she was just some weak woman. When there guard was down, Amita stole one of their guns and killed them all. She managed to escape to the South and joined the Golden path the first opportunity. Unfortunately, none would let her fight and prove herself. It would be years before she finally earned her place in the Golden Path by winning a strategic battle against the Royal Army. After that many followed behind her and when she presented her ideas of change to people, many more followed. Of course this also earned hostility from other commanders of the Golden path, but she was especially threatening to Sabal.

Suddenly a knock came from her door. After telling the person on the other side to come in, it turned out to be one of her closest allies.

"Amita, it's Sabal. The Dhami says that he should wake up any second."

Amita raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but got up anyways to follow her subordinate.

Amita was led straight through the Temple to Sabal's room. Amita still had not taken the entire place in. It was bigger than any other Temple in Kyrat and surprisingly well hidden. Despite being in the place for days, the Golden Path have not yet explored the entire building. Every day they were finding newer and newer rooms. While Amita was not one for the . . . archaic, even she could appreciate the beautiful structure. After all, it was big enough to fortify and no doubt had enough relics to sell and keep the Golden path well-funded. Nasas may be helping Kyrat, but he was still a businessman and businessmen never do anything for free.

Amita and her second finally came to Sabal's room. They entered and saw Sabal lying down on a bed covered head to toe in gauze. Amita looked at Sabal's unmoving body and flinched. Ajay, Pagan, and their fucking Royal Army did a number on them both. Amita scratched the new black eyepatch that covered the wound that Ajay himself inflicted on her. A long diagonal scar crossed over from her right cheek, across her nose, and over her left eye, ending at her left temple. Oh she was beyond furious at loss of half her sight; she even shot someone out of anger. Thankfully she aimed with her right eye instead of left.

Sabal, however, was much worse. Before the Battle of Banapur ended, some of Sabal's people managed to drag him out of the fire fight before the Royal Army could completely overrun them. However, when they found him he was on the brink of death. Sabal's body was covered in burns and even half his face was fried, but that wasn't the worst of it. He had enough shrapnel sticking out of his body to be considered modern art. Amita couldn't exactly remember, but they might have pulled out more than twenty pieces out of Sabal's body. No one was sure to call it a miracle that he was alive or a curse.

Surrounding the comatose Sabal were four men. Three were his most loyal men and a fourth man was Kyrati, but not officially a part of the Golden Path.

The man was a Dhami. A shaman or a witch doctor to be more specific. Dhamis were very hard to find nowadays since Pagan outlawed such individuals. So most either died or went into hiding from the current monarchy. This Dhami was half naked, only wearing an orange loincloth. His wrinkly dark skin was decorated in a variety of colors and patterns. He had a long grey beard and hair. He wore a beaded necklace with a rhino horn as a center piece.

Amita had heard about this Dhami. They say he was over a hundred and ten years old and could heal anything that ailed the mind, body, and spirit. Amita scoffed at such things, but Sabal's people desperately searched for the supercentenarian. They had found him in the deepest parts of Kyrat's jungles, meditating in an abandoned ashram and begged him to save their commander. The Dhami agreed and followed them all the way to the ancient temple.

The Dhami was standing over Sabal chanting something that Amita didn't understand. Two bowls smoking some kind of plant were laid beside Sabal's head. The Dhami continued to chant as he grounded some peculiar herbs in a bowl. He then disturbingly enough cut his arm with a blade, letting the life liquid fall into the bowl until it was a third full.

The Dhami then leaned Sabal up and stopped chanting.

"Spirits, leave this man's body. Return to the world you once came and grant this man the ability to fight another day. May he never be afflicted by your aura again and may the pain you caused him make him stronger than he ever was before."

The Dhami then poured the bowls contents into Sabal's mouth. Sabal subconsciously gulped down every bit of the Dhami's elixir.

Amita scowled. She had forgotten that Dhamis also act as mediators between spirits and the real world. Despite it being an old-fashioned belief in this modern time, many still believe that the afflictions they face, such as illnesses, are the cause of evil spirits.

The Dhami gently laid Sabal down on the bed and then everyone waited.

. . . . .

And waited.

. . . . .

. . . . .

And waited.

. . . . .

. . . . . !

"Nothing's happening!"

"Dhami, you said this would work!"

"So Sabal is stuck like this!"

"Just give it a little more time." The Dhami said calmly. "It takes a while to take effect."

"Amita scoffed in disgust. Leave it to these relics to think these old fashioned medicines actually worked.

"Face it, Dhami, Sabal is gone. We should just put the bastard out of his misery." Amita said.

She pulled out her gun and aimed it at Sabal's head. Just as she was about to pull the trigger and put an end to her rival, Sabal's hand shot up and grabbed Amita's wrist in a vice grip.

Everyone jumped back in shock as Sabal slowly woke up. Amita winced in pain as Sabal was practically crushing her wrist.

"I'm not dead." Sabal said hoarsely. His throat was dry from the pain it was in and also how long he was out.

Amita tried to yank her arm out of Sabal's grip, but he held onto her so tight she could feel the circulation in her arm start to slow. Sabal after a second let go of Amita and looked at his own hand strangely. Amita gently rubbed her arm as she saw a handprint shaped bruise around her wrist.

Sabal quickly got out of bed and stood on the cold hard floor, but he once again looked strangely at his body.

"A mirror. Where is a mirror?" Sabal saw a full body mirror at the corner of the room and stumbled toward it. Everyone was telling Sabal to lie down as his body was in no doubt a lot of pain, but Sabal ignored them and walked as if his body wasn't damaged in the least.

Sabal looked at his reflection and saw 80% of his body was covered in bloody bandages, including half his face. Sabal shocked face continued to grow until it contorted into one of rage.

"Ajay Ghale!" Sabal grabbed the mirror and threw it to the ground, shattering it to pieces. Some the mirror shards flew and hit Sabal, but he looked at the minuscule cuts peculiarly. Sabal then bent down to pick up a mirror shard and slowly cut himself on his chest. He looked at the self-infliction that was seeping his own blood and then looked at the shard in his hand, which was also cutting into his hand. While everyone was worried about Sabal hurting himself, Amita was the only one to notice that something was wrong with the man known as "The Elephant." But not wrong in a suicidal way.

The Dhami walked up to Sabal. "Sabal." The Dhami said.

Sabal turned around and then bowed respectfully to the supercentenarian.

"Dhami. Thank you for helping me. The Golden Path is greatly indebted to you." Sabal said.

The Dhami shook his head. "No, Sabal. While I managed to purge the bad spirits from your mind and soul, I'm afraid they had already done serious damage to your body." The Dhami wiped some blood from Sabal's chest and looked at the wet blood in his palm. "As I'm sure you've noticed. You can no longer feel anything."

Everyone in the room gasped and stared wide-eyed at Sabal. He couldn't fell anything!?

"What do you mean he can't feel anything?" Amita asked.

"I mean, just what I said. Sabal was too greatly damaged. His body can no longer feel any bliss or pain. He could walk through a field of needles and not even feel a single sharp prick." The Dhami bowed his head apologetically. "I am sorry, Sabal, but I have failed you. I saved your soul and mind, but your body . . . is dead."

Sabal stared at the Dhami for a moment. He then stared at Amita, namely the bruise he left on her wrist. He didn't even know he was gripping her that hard. Sabal then looked at his fist and walked toward the stone wall. Everyone was looking at him oddly, wondering what he was going to do. Then the strangest thing happened, Sabal punched the wall, leaving a crack in the stone. Everyone backed up at the unrestrained strength that Sabal had just shown. Sabal's hand was bruised and bloody, but he felt nothing. No pain. No distractions. No nothing.

"No, Dhami. This is not a curse." The Dhami looked at Sabal in surprise and so did everyone else. "This is a gift. A gift from Kyra herself! My body is no longer tied to this world. It can feel no pain. If I get shot or stabbed, I'll not feel it. What could be better for a warrior of Kyrat? To not be distracted by such things as pain or pleasure. To not be distracted by feelings or emotion. No Dhami." Sabal put his hands on the old man's shoulders. "This is a miracle! This is a glorious day for the Golden Path. I am reinvigorated!"

Amita scoffed at Sabal's religious bullshit. How could he think having no sense of touch or feeling was a good thing? Everyone else seemed inspired by Sabal and how he managed to see the bright side of his condition. The Dhami, however, was very worried about Sabal. There was a mad look behind Sabal's eyes, a look that said he wanted to everyone to feel the way he did. He wanted everyone to feel and be nothing.

The Dhami thought he was saving a good holy man from what the Golden Path said about Sabal, now he wasn't so sure.

Sabal then looked at Amita.

"Amita, I assume you were setting up the plans?"

"Of course. Nasas is already getting everything. We should be ready for a counter attack soon." Amita said.

Sabal smiled evilly and that sent shivers down the spines of everyone in the room.

"Excellent. The sooner I can share this miracle with Ajay, the better."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Yes! Finally! Hahahaha! I have been waiting forever to kill those two! I killed Yogi and Reggie! Ever since I first met these two I have wanted to shoot them. For the life of me, I do not know why were never given the option even though Ajay wanted to shoot them in the beginning. These bastards drugged Ajay and then sold him to the Arena. Ajay comes back to kick them out of his home, only for them to sit down and have a smoke, where THEY manage to kick Ajay out of his own home with the story of the thangka. Then we go on several missions where they drug us and put us in several life endangering missions! They toss us into a bear cave with nothing to protect ourselves with. I thought about having them tortured to death, but I figured they weren't THAT bad, so I went for a simple stabbing. I thought about Ajay killing them too, but if Ajay wanted to kill them, we would have had the option in the game.** **Now don't get me wrong, I like a druggie character as much as the next guy, but these two were just so fucking annoying!** **This was a real pleasure writing out there death.**

 **Lastly I want to talk about something I've had on my mind for a while. In the Far Cry Universe we see some weird supernatural stuff. Mostly in FC4, but we've seen some in FC3 too. The thangkas I've always been fascinated by. I have no idea how they work. At first I thought that maybe only Ajay can see their visions, but if the Lieutenant's Lost Letters are any indication, anyone can use them. A part of me wants to think it is some kind of magic, but another side of me thinks it is drugs. The thangka is ancient, so maybe when it was being made, the monk used some type of weird herbs to create the thangka and when someone inhales the dust from the thangka they see visions of what Kalinag experienced, though that doesn't explain how everyone sees the same visions (I think at least).**

 **Which brings me to another theory that I like to call The Trip Theory. The Trip Theory is: drugs let you see into and experience other worlds. Now I got this idea from watching the new movie Sausage Party. In the movie the talking walking food can only be seen for what they really are by the humans taking drugs. Letting them see a world beyond reality. Most of Ajay and Jason's toughest fights are usually drug induced. Jason fought the Giant and Vaas and Ajay fought the Rakshasa and Yuma. And both experienced a lot of weird drug trips. What if, while the world just saw two guys hallucinating, they were really fighting such monsters in a reality that normal people couldn't see. The drugs opened the eyes and minds to a world beyond their reality, showing them things that would break normal people. I like to think this is why Ajay just lets Yogi and Reggie drug him, because he gains some interesting insights to his world view from the drugs.**

 **I don't know. This sounds weird even as I'm typing this, but I've just always been fascinated by the things these two experience whenever they take some weird drug. Maybe I'm just trying to read into this too much, but I thought it was interesting. Tell me what you guys think about the drug trips that both Ajay and Jason experience. You think it means something or just some insane bullshit that places like Kyrat and Rook Islands like to induce?**


	10. Monkey See, Monkey Do

**Authors Notes: Sorry for the late update everyone! I just haven't been in the writing mood.**

 **So a few people have told me that even though Pagan is mellow now because of Ajay, he should have killed Noore savagely for threatening Ajay the way she did. In truth, they're not wrong, but in my head, the reason he did not do this to Noore is because she is still one of his Governors and sees her as too valuable to just kill. Were she anyone else, yeah they'd be dead. The worst that Noore would get for her transgressions would be a good scolding and beating from Pagan personally. Also, I like to think out of all the Governors, Noore is a bit more rebellious and therefore Pagan expects her to act like this from time to time. Well that's my reasoning anyway.**

 **Also, if anyone is interested I have the meanings of the 4 Fortress Names. Two of them were already provided for me and the other two were for research and were a little tricky to find. I'm not sure if it's the official accurate name, but I'd say it's close enough.**

 **Varshakot: Rain Coat (in Hindi)**

 **Baghadur: Tiger's Domain (curtesy of havok038)**

 **Ratu Ghadi: Queen Ghadi (found in Far Cry Wiki)**

 **Rajgad Gulag: Soverign Stronghold Prison (in Hindi) (Interesting fact, Gulag is actually a Russian acronym, but still a labor camp is still basically a prison)**

* * *

 **Monkey See, Monkey Do**

 _Monkeys are superior to men in this: when a monkey looks into a mirror, he sees a monkey. – Malcolm De Chazal_

"So . . . what is it we're doing again?" Ajay asked as he tossed a grenade into the river. The explosion making the water burst up like a geyser.

"Why we're bonding of course." Pagan cheerily replied. He pulled the pin from a grenade and threw it into the river. The explosion made the river erupt once again.

"Bonding? How is this bonding?" Ajay threw another grenade.

"Why Ajay I'm hurt." Pagan pouted playfully. "We're obviously performing one of the oldest father-son bonding rituals."

. . .

"We're fishing!" Pagan smiled. The tyrant tossed another live grenade into the water.

Pagan had barged into Ajay's room early in the morning. Ajay was so spooked he pulled out the gun he kept under his pillow and nearly shot Pagan and his entourage. After getting kidnapped by the Golden Path in an outpost Ajay was more cautious even in protected places. Even in the Palace he was on constant high-alert. Most people would think this to be very paranoid, but considering 95% of Kyrat, including the flora, fauna, terrain, weather, and people could kill you, Ajay was not taking any chances.

Back to the matter at hand. Pagan had woken Ajay up in one of the weirdest outfits he had seen the flamboyant man wear so far: a pink tackle vest with his trademark peacock badge on his left breast pocket and a purple tackle hat with three fish hooks stitched in. Ajay had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

The King got his son out of bed. Ajay didn't need to bother changing as he usually slept in his clothes. Ajay asked where they were going and Pagan responded with "To go and relax."

Ajay had no idea what that meant until they arrived at a cliff overlooking a river. The Pagan's Wrath that they brought along for protection and security brought out several crates of explosives, including grenades, C4, and grenade launchers.

Basically Pagan wanted to spend time with his step-son by fishing. Only, instead of fishing with poles and lures, they brought explosives.

So here they were Blast fishing for demon fish.

As weird as it was, Ajay was actually having a good time. There was just something relaxing about tossing explosives into water and just seeing it burst. Pagan also provided good conversation and Shangri-lager, making the day seem all the more pleasant.

They talked about this and that. The weather, amazing kills, missions the both of them had been on, Ishwari. All the while hurling grenades into the water and killing demon fish. They had already killed and caught several demon fish that Pagan said he would have cooked up for a party in Ajay's honor. But what they were really hoping to catch was the famous Black Water Dragon. An albino demon fish that was bigger, meaner, and could only be found in dark murky waters like the one they were at.

Ajay wanted its scales because Chiffon had asked him to capture the scales for his fashion project: Combat Couture. Pagan wanted to just eat its meat for the party.

As the two were talking Ajay asked something that was on his mind for a while.

"Hey Pagan, why did Noore throw me into the arena?" Ajay asked.

Pagan remained quiet as he tossed a grenade into the river.

"I mean, she works for you right? So why would she try to harm someone that's close to you?"

"Well . . . because she doesn't like me." Pagan sheepishly.

"Why?"

Pagan sighed deeply. He seemed more and more uncomfortable the more Ajay kept questioning him.

"Because Ajay . . . I ruined her life and killed her family." Pagan said it like he was ripping off a band-aid. Just getting it over with.

Ajay looked both confused and bewildered by that.

Pagan gave a Ajay a 'really?' when he saw the young man's face.

"Come on Ajay, is it really hard to imagine ME of all people ruining someone's life?"

Ajay composed himself. "No. No not really, but I just don't understand how she could work for you if you did all that."

Pagan shrugged. "Well she knows I did one of those things, but the reason she works for me is because she's trying to protect her family."

"But you said her family is dead."

"Yes I did."

Realization hit Ajay. "Oh Pagan, you killed her family and are using them to control her."

"Well when you put it like that you make me sound awful. Before she ran the arena and became my little governor slave, she was a renowned doctor. One of the best. She openly spoke out against me for my inhuman treatment of the people of this country. I invited her here to . . . "discuss" about the issues she has with the treatment of my citizens. I told her she could bring her whole family. She did and when she arrived I presented her my solution: "Pagan's 12 step plan to corrupt Dr. Noore and ruin her life." After that, I kidnapped her family, made her go against everything she believed in by making her work in the Arena and run my drug and slave trade operations. I had her family killed a few months after that."

Well that explained a lot to Ajay. No wonder the woman was such a bitch, she's trying to save her family. Ajay couldn't help but actually pity and relate to Noore now. She thought by threatening Ajay, she could force Pagan to give back her family in exchange for his safety. A horrible plan, but when your back is against the wall anything goes. Ajay himself knew that he would do anything if it meant saving his mother.

"You no doubt think less of me for what I did to Noore, yes?" Pagan said.

Ajay looked at Pagan. "I already knew you were a horrible person, Pagan. The first day I met you I knew that. But you're the only family I have left, no matter your faults, no matter your mistakes, I'll stick by you."

Pagan was shocked by Ajay's words and a smile slowly grew on his face. He burst into laughter before finally calming down and looked kindly at Ajay.

"Thank you, Ajay. Thank you." Ajay nodded his head. Pagan turned his head back to the water and developed a look of surprise. "Ajay look!" Pagan pointed to the water.

Ajay looked down and saw something big circling around in the water. It was a demon fish, but it was bigger then what they've been catching. From what Ajay could see it was white, making it stick out easily and had red eyes. It was munching on the remains of some of the demon fish that didn't make it in one piece.

"Is that the Black Water Dragon?" Ajay asked.

"Yes it is boy! Quick get in the gyro copter before it swims away. You'll have a better vantage point in the air then on this cliff." Pagan said.

Ajay nodded his head before he boarded the gyrocopter that the soldiers brought with them. Ajay didn't know why they brought one for fishing, but now he knew.

Ajay took off and pulled out his M-79 grenade launcher. He fired into the water where the monster fish swam. Surprisingly, it didn't do much other than making the creature swim away faster.

"Seriously?" Ajay said exasperatedly. "What is with the animals in this country? It's like they mutated to become super animals." Ajay mumbled at the absurdity of the fish's toughness.

He fired several more volleys into the water. Some hit, others the Water Dragon managed to avoid. For a big fish it was fast. Suddenly the Water Dragon dove deep under water. For a second Ajay thought that it was just trying to avoid the blasts by going deeper, but much to Ajay's astonishment, t quickly swam back up and launched out of the water and bit down on one of the copter's legs.

"Holy shit!"

Because of the unexpected excess weight, the gyrocopter began to spin around and descend. Ajay tried to get back control, but the Water Dragon kept thrashing around making it difficult to get the vehicle back on course. In the end it was too late and the gyrocopter fell into the water.

Ajay heard Pagan yell his name before he was submerged in water.

Ajay held his breath as he searched for the fish that dragged him into this situation. He kept turning around searching for it, but he just couldn't find it. Suddenly something bit his arm and at the corner of his eye he saw the demon fish swim away. Ajay quickly broke to the surface.

"Ajay!" Pagan shouted in relief. But before Ajay could get to him, something bit his foot and dragged him back underwater.

Ajay looked down and saw the Black Water Dragon pull him down. Both his arm and leg were bleeding profusely, but he was more concerned about the monstrous and carnivorous fish eating him. As it dragged him down deeper and deeper into the black abyss, Ajay began to punch the creature in the face. He got in three blows before it let him go and swam off.

Ajay, instead of pursuing swam back to the top to get air. He knew the creature wouldn't give up until he was fish chow, but he needed air to fight the thing. Before he could break the surface, he saw the Black Water Dragon come right for him. Ajay glared before he pulled out his kukri.

Ajay blocked with his arm and the demon fished latched right on with its dagger like teeth. Ajay struggled before he plunged his blade right into the fish's scaly scarred body. He stabbed and stabbed and stabbed, until all he could see was red.

Pagan and his men were completely worried when they saw the gyrocopter be brought down by the Black Water Dragon. They knew the aquatic albino was tough and fearsome, but they didn't think it could snatch a buzzer right out of the air and bring it down.

Pagan tried to jump in to help his son, but his men held him back in fear of his safety. Of course, Pagan wouldn't take that and punched several of his men. He only stopped fighting when he saw the bubbles popping on the water suddenly stop. Seeing all that red blood spread in the water wasn't helping anything and the redder the water got the more they all thought Ajay finally bit it when the Water Dragon bit him.

Seconds felt like hours as they waited for something to surface, either Ajay or his corpse.

When Ajay broke to the surface, everyone was relieved. When he dragged the Black Water Dragon's carcass behind him, everyone was astonished. He dragged it by the tail and stopped in front of Pagan and his men and dropped the creature on the ground in front of them. He was dripping wet and covered in blood. Both his blood and the blood of the demon fish.

Everyone was quiet before Ajay finally spoke. "I'd say I have the catch of the day."

Pagan and his men cheered and then Ajay was embraced by Pagan.

"He survived against the Black Water Dragon! Incredible!"

"You truly are amazing Ajay. Can anything actually kill you?"

"No way! If Ajay could kill a rhino in the arena, then a dumb fish stands no chance!"

"You had me worried there for a while Ajay! This is the second time you've been cornered by an animal and I had to watch on. If you make a habit of this I may shoot you myself."

Ajay knew Pagan was joking considering the Asian man was laughing, but it was still a bit offputting for him to say that.

"You men! Hang up that fish. My boy and I need to take a picture to commemorate this event."

The soldiers quickly hooked the fish and hung it up a tree. Pagan took out his phone and gave it to one of his men. Ajay and Pagan stood in front of the demon fish and waited for the soldier to take the picture.

They heard several clicks before the phone was given back.

"Awesome!" Pagan said as he looked at the pictures on his phone. "We'll have to mount that, Ajay. And I'm sure Mr. Chiffon would just die to have those scales to add to his fashion shows."

"Sounds awesome."

"This has been a perfect day, Ajay. Thank you so much for doing this with me."

Pagan then gave Ajay a bear hug, which he returned as well.

 **The Next Day**

Ajay was in a pretty good mood. Despite nearly drowning and being eaten alive by a monster fish, Ajay had a lot of fun hanging out with Pagan. The two ended up spending the rest of the day having a cook out. They had (you guessed it) grilled demon fish and caviar. And speaking of fish eggs, the Black Water Dragon Ajay killed turned out to be a female. A pregnant female, with many intact demon fish eggs. Instead of eating them, like Ajay thought would happen, Pagan ended up keeping them. Saying he would use them for a surprise for Ajay. When it came to Pagan, the surprise could be either good or bad.

Hurk had called Ajay to give him some help with something. Whatever it was it sounded like he really needed help with it. Hurk was a bit boisterous for his taste, but Ajay could tell he was an alright guy, if just a bit weird.

He met up with Hurk at a clearing, near some ruins. He saw the hick just standing with his back turned holding a . . .

"Jesus. Is that a harpoon?"

Hurk turned around revealing a VERY large harpoon gun.

"Dude, meet the Impaler. It's not just for whales anymore. I believe this'll bee the thing in and out of the bedroom." Hurk said as he flaunted his large weapon.

"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Ajay asked.

"Dude, you and me should totally team up for a special personal quest I'm on. We'll be so awesome together, it's gonna be epic as fuuuck."

"Personal Quest? Awesome together?"

"Like monkeys and bananas. Quick, what do you think when I say monkeys, man?"

"Bananas." Ajay drolled.

"Idols man. Pagan monkey idols." Hurk said like it was the most obvious thing. "I've, like, done some unkindness in my day toward my close cousin, the monkey. I'm trying to make restitutions with them on the count of the C4 vests."

There were so many things wrong with what Hurk said that Ajay was worried he misheard something. Especially that last part.

"The what?"

"It's like twelve steps, but with guns. Normally I'd go up there with my monkey compadres, but they got, like, no body fat what-so-ever. Freeze faster than you can say chimp-cicle. So I figured, you're a cool dude, who'd help a brother out. Anyway, I heard on the streets that there is a monkey idol hidden in an ice cave up in the mountains. And I know where it is." Hurk revealed smugly.

"What streets?" Ajay asked more confused than ever.

"THE streets, dude! Now focus. I heard the Golden Path are looking for that statue too, so we need to go, like," Hurk grabbed Ajay's wrist to look at his watch. "right now. Come on man! Adventure, treasure, and self-discovery await! Yeehaw!" Hurk took off running without waiting for an answer from Ajay.

Ajay sighed tiredly. "Well he did help me in Banapur. I guess I can help him with his . . . monkey redemption." Ajay couldn't believe he just said that. "Also this'll be a great way to fuck up some Golden Path. Hurk wait up!" Ajay chased after his excitable friend.

. . .

After getting a Sherpa to take them up the mountains, Hurk led Ajay through the snowy peaks. They trudges through snow until they saw a helicopter fly over. They both hit thr ground before they were spotted.

"Looks like the Golden Path already found this place. Shit." Hurk said.

"The Golden Path have helicopters?" That was new to Ajay and definatley something he should alert Pagan about.

The two of them slowly made their way over a hill and found the campo that the Golden path had set up. Ajay took out his camera and began scanning the area.

"A lot of Golden Path down there. Why do they want the statue in the first place?" Ajay asked as he continued to scan.

Hurk shrugged. "Who knows, man. I heard Sabal collects relics to protect from Pagan and I heard Amita sells the stuff on the black market to fund the Golden Path. Either way, we can't let them get the statue. I need it more!"

Ajay rolled his eyes. "I'll take the few on the left. You take the ones on the right."

"Gotcha."

The two split up.

Ajay pulled out his kukri and slowly entered a tent. He saw two Golden Path rebels playing a card game at a table. Ajay quickly tossed a throwing knife into the farthest rebel's eyes and before the next rebel could alert anyone, Ajay slit his throat.

Ajay exited the tent and pulled out his bow. He shot an arrow at a rebel that was sitting at the edge of a cliff. Ajay then took aim at a rebel that sat upon a cliff, but stopped when he saw Hurk kill him from behind. Hurk saw him and waved at him. Hurk then dropped from the cliff and impaled his blade into the neck of the rebel standing below him.

Ajay had to admit, he was impressed. At first glance Hurk didn't seem all that skilled, but the man-child actually had moves to bring to a fight.

The only rebels left were standing by a fire trying to stay warm. Both Ajay and Hurk looked at each other before nodding. The two instead of sneaking charged at the two rebels. The rebels started to turn when they heard the loud crunching of snow, but it was too late. Ajay and Hurk buried their blades into the two rebel's guts, killing them.

With the area clear they entered one of the bigger tents and found a large yellow box sitting on the table. Ajay went and opened it only to find nothing.

"It's empty."

"Dude! Total cock-block moment." Hurk whined. "Wait a minute, if it's not here then that must mean the statue is still on ice somewhere."

"Maybe they're still looking for it in the cave?" Ajay suggested.

"Awesome! We get to go all Indiana Jones style on this mission. Come on man, times a wasting!" Hurk grabbed Ajay by the arm and pulled him out of the tent.

"Intruders! Shoot them!"

Only to get spotted by a group of Golden Path rebels.

"Oh shit!" Ajay quickly tackled Hurk behind some boxes as a hail of bullets zipped passed the spot they were just in.

"It's Ghale the Traitor! We can't let him leave this mountain alive." One of the rebels shouted.

"Man they really don't like you." Hurk stated.

"Gee what made you think that?"

"And he's with that annoying American who doesn't bathe! Kill him too."

"What!?" Hurk said in outrage. "Hey man, I take a bath once every week! I care about my hygiene you terrorist bastards!"

Hurk pulled out The Impaler and aimed it at the coming rebels.

"Eat harpoon!" Hurk yelled before he fired the gun. The harpoon soared and imbedded itself in the mouth of the rebel that insulted Hurk. The force of the blow knocked the dead guy far away.

"Holy shit!" The rebels yelled.

"Oh shit! I didn't mean that literally." Hurk said.

Hurk ducked back into cover when the Golden Path retaliated. Ajay popped out of cover and fired his Sixer pistol at the rebels. He killed one and wounded another. He then tossed a grenade before getting back into cover. The explosion killed the wounded rebel and killed two others that didn't get out of the way in time.

Hurk had fired several more harpoons. Ajay was amazed, the stopping and killing power behind the harpoon gun was almost insane. Every time someone got a direct hit it sent them flying. One poor sap got impaled and mounted on an icy wall and died slowly. Another rebel tried to sneak around them, but Hurk saw them and fired. The bastard got hit in the chest and went flying over a cliff. If the situation wasn't so serious, Ajay would think it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

Hurk decided to give the harpoon gun a rest and switched to his modified 1887 shotgun. Ajay switched to his STG-90 assault rifle. Many of the Golden Path were nervous to even stick up out of cover because of Hurk's harpoon gun. The impaled and mounted remains of their fallen brothers and sisters was devastating to morale.

It wouldn't be long until they were all dead at the hands of the duo.

"They all dead?" Hurk asked.

"Yeah. We're clear." Ajay said.

"Well come on then." Hurk said impatiently. "Let's go get my monkey statue."

The two headed inside the cave. The Golden Path had obviously been here for a while. They had already set up fences to keep the cave stable and lights and rope to make it easier to see and move. While they traveled through the cave, Ajay decided to voice some of his questions.

"So Hurk, where did you learn your skills from?"

"Ah, here and there. Most of my stealth moves I learned a couple years ago on a place called Rook Island. The locals were in the middle of a war and in exchange for helping them out they tatted me up and taught me some things. Mostly knife techniques and the like."

"Impressive."

"I know right!"

"You also seem to be fond of that shotgun." Ajay eyed the lever-action shotgun in Hurk's grip.

"My trusty rusty 87. This is a family heirloom, brother. Been in my family for generations. It was used in both World Wars and Vietnam. Grandpap said this thing was more reliable than anything else. Course been modified over the years, but nothing wrong with prettying up the old girl." Hurk stroked the shotgun fondly.

Ajay was a bit creeped out by the way Hurk was stroking the weapon and decided to not comment. At just the right time too as they saw several rebels surrounding pool of water that had ice carved out of it. Ajay motioned Hurk to go around and the big guy nodded.

When Hurk was behind the rebels they both opened fire, killing all of the rebels before they could even draw their guns.

They approached the pool of water. Ajay was about to jump in until Hurk stopped him.

"Hold up, amigo. We don't know how deep that water is. Best not leave it up to chance. Here." Hurk pulled out a syringe with a blue like liquid inside.

"What is it?" Ajay asked as he took it.

Hurk pulled out a second one for himself apparently. "Deep Dive. Friend of mine gave me this concoction, back on Rook Island. Gives you a little high, but basically makes your lungs produce more oxygen. Take this and you can breathe under water longer then you ever could."

Ajay looked at the syringe before shrugging and injecting it into his arm. He almost instantly felt the effects and felt like he could run a marathon. Two of them! He waited for Hurk to inject himself before diving into the cold freezing water.

Hurk was right to use the injections. It took a while for them to follow the power lines and glow sticks and make it to the end. Too long to hold your breath naturally.

As they surfaced, Ajay saw a rebel just standing near the edge. Ajay motioned for Hurk to be quiet before grabbing the poor schmuck, pulling him into the water and stabbing him in the heart. They got out of the freezing water and found several Golden Path chiseling away at the ice walls and saw a Heavy Pyro setting up some charges.

Ajay and Hurk looked at each other before they got to work on clearing out the area. It was child's play as they silently killed the rebels with their kukris. The only one left was the Pyro, who was setting up the explosives. Ajay and Hurk looked at each other again before smirks spread across their faces. They could just sneak attack the guy, but where would the fun be in that?

They walked up to the detonator. Ajay hovered his hand over the button and nodded to Hurk. Hurk smiled before he blurted out, "Fire in the hole!" Ajay slammed the button and the ice wall turned to chunks along with the Heavy Pyro.

They entered the next cave and discovered it to be a ruined monastery. A giant statue of Kyra was buried in the snow with rubble scattered all around it.

"Dude, totally getting an Indiana Jones vibe from this. Look out for snake pits." Hurk said as he eyes the snow carefully.

"Snakes in the snow?"

"Well okay maybe not snakes, but maybe a giant boulder will fall on us when we take the statue."

Ajay chuckled. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that either. Come on." They climbed up the mound of snow where the giant Kyra statue was and found the monkey statue on an altar. The statue was a foot tall, made of solid gold, and had its hands covering its mouth. Before Ajay could grab it, Hurk spoke up.

"Wait!"

"W-what?" Ajay asked startled.

"You can't just reach out and take some priceless artifact. It could be booby-trapped." Hurk said. Ajay slapped his forehead at Hurk's antics. Before Ajay could just take the statue, Hurk picked up a handful of snow and packed it into a large ball about the size of the statue.

Hurk slowly approached the statue. His hand hovered right over the statue. Ajay started to notice Hurk was sweating from all the concentration and stress. Finally in a quick motion Hurk took the statue and replaced it with the ball of snow.

A moment of silence passed and Hurk quickly looked around as if he expected something to happen. When nothing did he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay we're in the clear man. No booby-traps." Hurk gave a thumbs up.

"Great. Then let's get out of here."

"Hey look up there."

Ajay looked up to see what Hurk was pointing at and saw a hole in the ceiling with climbing gear sticking down from it.

"What the hell? There was a way in and out of here? Why did they even bother to excavate their way in then?" Ajay asked annoyed.

"Who knows? But that's our way out."

The two of them pulled out their grappling hooks and tossed them up into the hole in the ceiling. They pulled themselves up and discovered another Golden path camp set up. Only unlike the last one this one was empty.

"Dude, check it out. We get to exit our way out in style." Hurk said as he approached a helicopter.

"Well it was nice of them to leave it for us."

Suddenly they heard the sounds of snowmobiles from a distance and they were without a doubt heading right towards them.

"Ah shit! The cavalry's coming. Here!" Hurk tossed the Impaler to Ajay. "I'll get this bird in the sky and you deal with Golden Path."

Ajay nodded as he quickly got into cover. The Golden Path rolled up in snowmobiles and began to open fire. They tried to shoot at the helicopter more when they saw Hurk working in it.

Ajay quickly aimed the harpoon gun and fired at a moving snowmobile. The harpoon managed to penetrate both riders. Ajay ducked back into cover and loaded another harpoon. By the time he reloaded most of the first wave of rebels had already taken cover and fired on both Ajay and the copter.

"Dude! I can't work like this when they're shooting my ass. Get rid of them!" Hurk yelled.

Ajay launched another harpoon which hit a rebel in the face. He reloaded it again, but Ajay decided to switch weapons to get rid of them faster. Ajay pulled out his assault rifle and open fired. He shot two in the head and three in the chest. Only two rebels remained. While Ajay reloaded, one of the rebels pulled out a grenade. Thinking quickly, Ajay stopped reloading and threw a throwing knife as the rebel pulled the pin. The knife didn't kill the rebel, but he did stumble and dropped the live grenade.

"Shit!" The rebel shouted. While the second rebel ran, the other guy stupidly tried to grab and stop the grenade, but it was too late and he was blown to smithereens. Ajay took advantage of the confusion and shot the last rebel with his Sixer pistol.

"Hurk, how's the helicopter coming."

"Shit. Uhh, it's coming. Now do I press the blinky button or turn the little switch here?" Hurk mumbled.

"Hurk, you do know how to work a helicopter right?" Ajay asked almost angrily.

"Yes! Kinda. Maybe?" Hurk said meekly.

"Hurk." Ajay said warningly.

"Look, dude, I got this okay. I drove a barge before, how different could a helicopter be?"

"They're completely different!"

"Ah-well uh-hey look more Golden Path. Take care of them while I look for the instruction manual."

Ajay huffed in exasperation and just decided to kill all the Golden Path before killing Hurk. Ajay picked up the Impaler and shot two rebels on a snowmobile with the one harpoon. He quickly loaded another harpoon before shooting it into the chest of another rebel.

Ajay then whipped out Sixer and with great accuracy shot two rebels in the head. Finishing the rest off, Ajay tossed two grenades, to either kill or flush out the rebels. The explosions went off and the rest scattered, which was what Ajay wanted. He whipped out his assault rifle and killed the rest easily enough.

Suddenly, Ajay heard the helicopter start and the propeller began to spin.

"Hey Ajay I think I got the helicopter working! Uh-oh. Ajay we got helicopter coming in hot."

Ajay turned around and saw a helicopter in the distance. It had already begun shooting at them, which Ajay responded by jumping into cover.

"Ajay, we're sitting ducks out here, man. You need to bring that bird down."

"Working on it Hurk." Ajay frowned.

Ajay took a deep breath before grabbing the Harpoon gun and sprinting to the edge of the cliff. Bullets whizzed past him as he finally made it to the edge. His bulletproof vest was ruined and useless, but he just needed one clear shot. He aimed right at the helicopter and fired.

The harpoon soared farther than any arrow, faster then and bird. It traveled far and fast and broke through the helicopter's windshield and penetrated the pilot's sternum. The co-pilot was shocked beyond comprehension and the pilot was just stunned in both surprise and pain as he looked at the thing that just violated his very being.

Neither the pilot or the co-pilot were paying attention to their surroundings and when they finally did it was too late, they had crashed into the cliff face and died in a fiery explosion.

"Holy shit, man. Did you just kill a helicopter with a harpoon gun? That is awesome, dude!" Ajay smirked at his own handiwork. "Just for that, I think I'll let you keep the Impaler. It'll do more good for you anyway. Now hop in man, let's blow this popsicle stand."

Wordlessly, Ajay got into the helicopter, but before he did, he heard in the distance more Golden Path coming. Thinking quickly, Ajay ran over to a mountain face and stuck three bricks of C4 in the snow.

"Come on, man, we need to go, ASAP!"

Ajay quickly got in and the helicopter took off. Just in time as the Golden Path started to arrive in droves. They shot at the helicopter, making the hull of the aircraft making clanging noises, but before they could do any lasting damage, Ajay pulled out the detonator and flipped the switch an explosion rocked the mountain and an avalanche was caused. Both Ajay and Hurk watched in amazement as the Golden Path were engulfed and crushed in a tsunami of snow and ice.

Some tried to escape by riding down the mountain on their snowmobiles, but even they were not spared from the mountains forceful nature. In the end, the only survivors of this mission were Ajay and Hurk.

"That was awesome!" Hurk exclaimed.

Ajay had to admit, "It sure was."

. . .

"Woohoo! We did it, man! We made it back."

It took half an hour to return to Kyrat. It normally would have taken longer on foot, but thanks to the Golden Path "loaning" their helicopter it took much less time.

"Thanks for helping me out with this Ajay. Couldn't have done it without ya!" Hurk said appreciatively.

Ajay smiled. "No problem, Hurk. So are you squared with the monkeys now?"

"What? Of course not! One monkey statue ain't gonna do much. There are still a few more I have to get."

Ajay had only one thing to say to that. "Oh." He didn't like where this was going.

"Yeah. Since you've been a real pal, think you can help me get the rest?"

Ajay sighed tirelessly. "Yeah. Sure."

"Awesome, man."

Suddenly, Ajay's radio went off. Because they were in the mountains it was out of range of Kyrat airwaves, so if someone tried to contact him they'd be out of luck. Now that they were back, the signal was coming through.

"Ajay? Ajay! Can you hear me?"

"Pagan? Is that you?"

"Ajay, thank god. Where've you been?" Pagan asked desperately.

"I was in the mountains." Ajay answered. Something was wrong, Pagan sounded very worried. "What's wrong?"

"Amita and Sabal." Pagan said spitefully. "The Golden Path is back and in full force."

Both Ajay and Hurk looked at the radio with wide eyes.

"What? How?"

"It was Noore, Ajay, she was the traitor!"

* * *

 **Tell me, how many of you saw that coming?**

 **Just so everyone knows, the reason Hurk is such a badass in this story is because of two things. One: in FC4 Hurk is played in co-op so technically he does have actual skills in-game. And second: as I explained in the story, I like to think after Rook Island is where he learned most of his skills. He's still the same lovable pushover you would meet in canon, but he's definitely got a lot more badassness under his belt to help Ajay.**

 **Leave a review! Please and thank you!**


	11. Taken Down a Peg

**I'm just gonna swallow my pride and say this. But I made a mistake. When I first played Far Cry 4 I thought Varshakot and the City of Pain were one in the same. The City of Pain mission always was at night and I was always on the move and watching out for guards to really notice the place. So in my previous chapter I made the mistake of saying that the Fortress and the City were the same thing. That was my mistake as an author and writer and I apologize. I also apologize for taking so long in updating.**

* * *

Chapter 11

 **Taken Down a Peg**

" _Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap"- Galations 6:7_

Kyrat was no stranger to war. War was practically life in this valley of a country. This was not the first civil war brewed, nor would it be the last. But it had been some time since such destruction was laid to the mystical and beautiful land of this valley.

Fires raged all over the southern land. Smoke rose from the burning forests and villages and covered most of the sky. Gunfire echoed all over the south. The screams of dying men and women were just as frequent.

The Golden Path had returned. And in force. The Royal Army had thought they finally won the war. They became too lax by the time they realized the war wasn't over. The Golden Path had ambushed key locations and took back many of the southern territories that were once theirs.

Including the Fortress Varshakot.

 **Varshakot**

The southernmost fortress of the Royal Army had fallen. Their defenses were whittled down piece by piece. It happened so fast that the men just couldn't react fast enough. And by the time they managed to get their bearings their walls had crumbled and their gates were blown open.

The survivors were rounded up and made to kneel by the Golden Path forces. A total of ten survivors and Paul Harmon himself.

"Get your fucking hands off me you taxi driver!" Paul yelled as he struggled against his bound wrists.

The rebel pushed the governor forward and then forced him to kneel just like his men.

"Shut it!" A rebel shouted and hit Paul with the butt of his gun.

Paul glared at the rebel from the corner of his eye and then scanned his fallen fortress. What a sorry state it was now. When he arrived to give an inspection it stood proudly and intimidating. Now? Most of the walls were crumbled, the defenses shattered, and almost all the men lay dead all over the area.

Paul heard someone walking toward him and looked up to see a surprise. Then he laughed.

"Well don't you look pretty!" Paul bellowed. His men laughed alongside him. "I gotta say that's an improvement for you, Sabal."

Indeed, the man known as "The Elephant" stood in front of these captured men. His scarred and bandaged face glaring at them. Sabal kicked Paul in the gut to silence them.

"Shut up!" He roared. Paul did what Sabal demanded, but his mocking smirk didn't go away. Which just pissed the rebel leader off more.

Sabal began to pace around. He scanned the area taking it all in. Pride spread across his face.

"Varshakot." Sabal breathed almost tranquilly. "I believe in your language it would mean "Rain Coat." Fitting. Since it was meant to withstand heavy ordinances and give back just as much. Taking rain and giving it."

Sabal hummed a little. As if something piqued his interest. "Did you know this was a fortress that was once in the possession of the Golden Path? Yes, it was built during the beginning years of the civil war I presume."

"Wonderful history lesson, buddy." Paul interrupted. "Truly educational. You should consider a role on PBS. Now are you going to just kill us or bore us to death with your pointless tales?"

The men laughed at their boss' heckles. Which earned them a hit in the head and stomach. Sabal was not amused. Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps from behind him and spun around just in time as a kukri swiped down an inch from his face.

It was a Royal Army soldier that somehow escaped notice. The Golden Path raised their weapons to shoot the soldier, but Sabal waved at them.

"No. He's mine." Sabal said. The rebels brought their guns down, but kept them on the detained prisoners and Paul.

Sabal and the Soldier circled each other. The soldier thought Sabal would pull out his kukri, but to his astonishment, Sabal just raised his bare hands.

Insulted, the soldier decided to end the religious rebel's life and become famous for taking down one of the two heads of the two-headed elephant.

The soldier lunged forward and Sabal jumped to the side. The soldier swiped up and down, left and right, and Sabal just continued to dodge fluently like water. There were many close calls that put everyone on edge, as Sabal was unarmed.

Finally the soldier got in a deep cut on Sabal's shoulder. It was a wound that should have caused reeling pain, but to the soldier's surprise and everyone else's, Sabal didn't even react. Grunting frustratingly, the soldier pressed forward. After dodging a few more hits, Sabal got cut again, twice. One on the cheek and the other on the waist. Neither one he showed any reaction.

The soldier began to have a bad feeling creep up his spine at the unresponsive look Sabal gave him. But he buried that feeling deep inside and gave out a loud battle cry as he charged toward Sabal.

Sabal, unperturbed, stood still and didn't show any sign of moving. The soldier thrusted his blade and Sabal raised his right hand. The blade pierced through Sabal's palm.

Everyone was shocked to see this and couldn't believe their eyes. Especially when Sabal showed no reaction of pain, despite having his hand stabbed.

The soldier was so stupefied by the unresponsive Golden Path leader that he failed to notice the fist flying toward his face. With a sickening crack the man was sent back and landed on his back on the ground.

The soldier groaned in pain. His jaw had shattered from that single blow. Whereas Sabal didn't even flinch at the intruding object in his hand and casually strolled over to the downed soldier.

Paul was yelling at the soldier to get back up and fight, but his yelling fell on deaf ears and earned a punch to the head.

Sabal was in front of the soldier and when he stood above the pained man, he finally looked at the weapon in his hand as if he just noticed it. Without flinching, Sabal gripped the handle of the kukri and yanked it out. Blood dripped from his wounded palm, but Sabal didn't care in the least.

The soldier finally calmed down enough to look at his opponent and at that moment, he felt true fear. He stared at Sabal's face and saw a tranquil fury that shook him to his very core. Wordlessly, Sabal raised the kukri and struck like a rabid leopard. He swung and swiped the blade back and forth. The soldier's screams of pain and fear of dying only fueling his vigor. Only when the soldier was a bleeding mess of wounds did Sabal spare the man. Only then to stomp his boot on the soldier's face. Crushing it like a melon.

The brutality scared everyone, including Paul, into silence. Whatever, jokes they wanted to fling at Sabal and the Golden Path, were silenced. Whatever resistance they wanted to put up, was crushed like the soldier's head.

Sabal stroked his black locks back, smearing blood over his face and making him look even more insane. Then he looked straight at Paul. If his unfeeling skin didn't creep them out, then it was that empty and cold gaze Sabal laid on them.

An image of a furious Pagan entered Paul's mind.

"Now then." Sabal spoke up like he didn't just massacre someone. "Who's next?"

 **King's Bridge**

Hurk landed the stolen helicopter in the confines of the King's Bridge. After saying goodbye and going their separate ways, Ajay went to look for Pagan and his cabinet who were holding a meeting somewhere in the facility. Hurk went to talk to some soldiers about getting the copter a paintjob that wouldn't get them shot at by friendly fire. And also a tune-up, since it got shot quite a bit.

Ajay was guided to the biggest building in the area. He was told to head up the stairs and sure enough he found Pagan leaning over a table with maps all over it. As soon as he entered, Ajay noticed that the room was mostly empty with only a couple members of Pagan's cabinet around. And the only governor was Yuma, who smiled at him shortly before returning back to her studying.

Pagan lifted up his head and smiled happily when he saw Ajay.

"Ajay! So glad to see you're alright!"

"What's going on, Pagan? It's like hell out there."

"When is not hell?" Pagan scoffed. He then said one name with all the malice he possessed. "Noore. The little traitoress has been the one feeding intel to the Golden Path."

"What exactly happened that turned the south into a warzone?"

Ajay wanted details on everything that transpired while he was gone. He wasn't even gone for a whole day and already half the land was burning down and soaking in its own blood. He needed to know everything that happened up to this point.

"It all started with a transmition from Varshakot. Paul was performing an inspection of the fortress when they were suddenly hit by a surprise attack. The signal was lost in minutes before we could get any useful intel. The army sent out reinforcements, but then we kept getting other transmitions from other outposts and key locations saying they were under attack as well. The south was completely engulfed in war."

"As you know, Noore is responsible for most of the prostitution rings here in Kyrat. So everyone in that department takes orders from her. You also know how debauched most of Paul's men are. Well Noore had all her girls seduce the top men of Paul's and then slit their throats when they were . . . distracted."

"So most of the south's fighting force fell before they even had a chance to attack." Ajay deduced.

"Exactly. Noore then added her forces to the Golden Path's and you can pretty much guess how that ended."

"Overwhelming force against an unguarded opposition. A perfectly executed blitzkrieg." Ajay's answer got an affirmed nod from the king.

"Emphasis on the execute." Pagan joked.

"Why would Noore do this?" Ajay asked.

"I don't know." Pagan shrugged. "She shouldn't be able to go against me like this. I have her family hostage. Or at least, she thinks I have them hostage. She wouldn't dare to defy me and risk losing them."

Pagan scratched his head as he tried to make sense of how everything went wrong. Ajay as well took a moment to think. Cupping his chin and closing his eyes, Ajay thought real hard before he came up with the only idea that fit.

"What if she knows that her family is no longer alive?"

"Impossible."

"But what if she does. Think about it. As you said she would never risk her family, but what if there was nothing for her to risk. If she found out you and Paul killed her family a long time ago there would be nothing to hold her back on getting her revenge."

Pagan's eyes widened in realization that his step-son may be right. While it was one of the most closely guarded secrets in Kyrat, if Noore had somehow caught wind of the truth . . . Pagan gulped. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"I guess there's no better explanation. But right now that's moot. We can discuss more of that topic in detail after we've settled the fighting here in Kyrat."

"Agreed." Ajay nodded. He then leaned on the table to look down on the maps that had red lines, circles, and crosses on them "So what's the plan exactly? How do we settle this?"

Everyone gathered around the table.

"We need to suppress the fighting in the south." Yuma spoke up. "Unfortunately, the war's back on, but at least we can stop all the fighting before it spreads all over."

"What about the north? From what I could tell from the air it seemed relatively okay." Ajay asked.

"Yuma, bless her heart, locked everything down in the north and then some here in the south. And thanks to you wiping out most of the Golden Path influence the damage in the north was reduced to a minimum. And I use the word loosely." He motioned to the men in the room. "The Golden Path hit my cabinet hard. This is all that remains."

"We've at the very least reduced the fighting to the southern lands."

"What can we do to prevent the fighting from going further?"

Yuma pointed to three locations. "Here, here, and here." She pointed to Varshakot, Naccarapur (the vicinity of Shannath Arena), and the Rochan Brick Factory. "Our intel says the Golden Path is heaviest in these locations. If we want to stop the Golden Path in their tracks, this is the way to do it."

"Yuma's sent her hunters to deal with the Golden Path forces in Naccarapur. And I've sent Boris to deal with the Brick Factory." Pagan said.

"So then all that's left is to deal with Varshakot." Ajay said getting the jist.

"The Fortress is just a pile of ash now. The Golden Path have some huge weapon moving around the valley decimating our forces. We aren't sure what it is, but it softened the fortress up enough for the Golden Path to occupy the area." Yuma warned.

"And anything that can weaken a fortress is not good for us." Pagan mused. "Granted, Varshakot isn't the strongest fortress, but it's still quite impressive."

Ajay nodded in understanding. "I'll be careful."

"Good man! Stop by at the armory here and load up. You're going to need all the ammunition you can carry."

Ajay nodded his head and went to prepare for an intense fight. After leaving the room, Ajay headed for the armory. He was greeted by a kindly looking man with black hair, a goatee, and brown eyes.

"Greetings!" The armorer greeted boisterously. "You must be Ajay. I am Aarush. King Min has ordered me to supply you with anything you need. So please, please, tell Aarush what it is you require."

"Nice to meet you Aarush."

Ajay looked around and saw a wide array of guns, ammunitions, explosives, and body armor. Ajay looked at his arsenal and decided to swap out his Impaler and other weapons, but kept his bow.

"You've got some good stuff here Aarush." Ajay complimented as he picked up a shotgun.

"Thank you. Thank you! It's all in thanks to that African friend of yours, Longinus! He's supplied me with a great number of weapons and devices." The Royal Armorer's eyes shifted to the bow on Ajay's back. "An archer I see."

Ajay nodded his head. "Yeah. It's a versatile weapon."

A grin slowly formed on Aarush's face. "I only ever supply bows to the Hunters, but for you something special, wait here." Aarush quickly went to the back and shortly after brought back yellow-tipped arrows. "These are explosive arrows, Ajay. They are of my own design. I took apart a few grenades and created these beauties."

Ajay took the arrows and examined them.

"Careful of the tips. Last thing you want is to blow yourself up."

Ajay hummed as he examined his new ammo. While he couldn't collect them after firing them, they could do serious damage to vehicles and groups of people. Something that'll come in real handy in his current mission.

"I'll take all you got."

"Yes, yes! Good, good! Aarush is pleased! Since you are King Min's VIP and because I have a good feeling about you, I will give you the schematics to make these while you're on the move." Aarush said happily.

Ajay was quite surprised. "These are that easy to make?"

"Oh yes! All you need is a grenade and an arrow and you're in business."

"Thanks Aarush." Ajay said appreciatively.

"Of course, of course! Now what else do you need?"

 **Over the skies of Kyrat**

Ajay checked and fastened all his equipment to make sure it was secure. Strapped to his hip was his Sixer pistol, his bow and quiver on his back, and finally a GL-94 and a PKM machinegun. He was all set and the helicopter he was in took off. Around him other helicopters took and prepared to kick the Golden Path in the ass again.

"Alright, Ajay" his pilot said, "we'll be heading toward Varshakot first. That place is crawling with Golden Path. Our job is to wipe them all out and secure the area."

"Sounds good." Ajay said over the shared radio.

"That's a lot of guns your carrying there kid." One of the soldiers sitting near Ajay said.

Currently there were six other soldiers in the cockpit with Ajay. All armed and armored for a fight. But none of them were nearly as outfitted as Ajay.

"What's the matter boy? Afraid of dying so badly that you need all these big guns just to keep yourself alive?" The soldier joked. His buddies chuckled alongside him.

Ajay replied in an unamused tone. "No, I need them to keep you guys alive."

The others laughed at their friend as he basically got his dis turned around on him. The soldier didn't say anything and just glared.

"Alright, enough chatting we're coming up on the target!" The pilot said.

Ajay and another soldier got up and went for the machineguns on the side. Ajay looked outside the helicopter and saw all the destruction. Varshakot was completely demolished. Its walls fallen and its building crumbled. Fire, craters, and ash were all that was left from the attack.

"Look alive men! Enemies all around!"

Golden path began to shoot at the helicopters flying by.

"Let's light'em up!

Ajay pulled the trigger and fired on the rebels. Many of the rebels began to scatter and escape the hail of bullets, but many also didn't move in time. High-velocity rounds pierced and shredded their bodies into pieces. The ones that were unfortunate enough not to die instantly wailed in pain and horror.

Some Golden Path tried putting their suffering brothers and sisters out of their misery, but while they weren't looking Ajay fired on them. It was beyond easy shooting them from on high, Ajay realized. Like shooting fish in a barrel easy.

By the time the helicopter made a full circle of the ruined fortress, they had taken out more than half the rebels. The ones in cover still tried firing on the copter, aiming mostly for the shooters, but none of them were barely making any dent in the Blackhawks.

In the end it was a losing battle for the Golden Path and all that was left were corpses.

"Area clear. Good job men." The pilot said. "Moving to the next target."

But before they could leave a rocket shot at them, just barely missing them.

"Holy shit!"

Out in the paddy fields, namely on the high ridges, were Golden Path armed with rocket launchers.

"Taking evasive maneuvers!"

Many rockets began firing on the single chopper. One Blackhawk ended up getting shot down. It spun out of control before crashing into the ground in a fiery heap.

"Jesus!" Ajay yelled. It was difficult to aim and shoot while the pilot was trying not to get shot at by heavy ordinance, but it was better than not trying and hoping they wouldn't be shot down.

Ajay cocked the gun and open fired on anything that wanted him dead. Thankfully, most of the rocketeers were out in the open and taking time to aim. So they were a bit easier to shoot, despite the helicopter moving around so much. Some of the rebels were even standing near ammo crates and as soon as Ajay blasted those they exploded in a chaos of bullets and rockets. Some of the rockets in the crates actually blasted off and hit Golden Path rebels.

Soon all the rebels were dead and the helicopter had taken no damage from the rockets.

"Nice shooting, Ghale!" One of the soldiers said.

"Thanks!"

"Moving to the next location." The pilot said.

Both Ajay and the soldier remained in their positions. Now that they were in the middle of the war zone they couldn't afford to relax.

"You're a pretty good shot, Ghale." A soldier complimented.

"Thanks."

"But what do you need all these weapons for?" The soldiers just looked at all the bags Ajay carried and the weapons strapped to him. "Actually, most of that equipment looks pretty heavy. Isn't it?"

Ajay smiled. "It is, but I can handle it. When I lived in the States I had many odd jobs growing up. I used to work for this package company part-time and I always helped carrying heavy boxes. Over time I just grew used to carrying heavy items."

The soldiers laughed at thinking something so simple would help them in battle.

"We're coming up on our next target. Get ready!" The pilot announced.

"Roger!"

Suddenly their radios went off and a feminine voice spoke out of it.

"Hello, Ajay."

"Amita?!" Ajay yelled in surprise.

"In the flesh. I must say you did a number on us at Varshakot, but we're ready for you now. What is that saying you Americans have? 'An eye for an eye?'"

Suddenly a rocket hit the broadside of the helicopter.

"Shit! We're hit! We're hit! We're going down!"

The helicopter spun out of control. The explosion had killed one of the soldiers and knocked another one out of his seat and plummet to his death. Fire spread to some of the men, burning them and making them scream in pain. Ajay held onto his gun for dear life and felt the impact of the helicopter crashing. Thankfully it didn't explode.

Ajay groaned as he rubbed his head in pain. He looked around to see all of the soldiers dead. He unstrapped himself from his safeties and then pulled out his PKM. He jumped from the helicopter and found he was in the jungle.

In the distance he heard the roar of engines. Several Golden Path vehicles came out of the foliage carrying many rebels in them. They opened fire on Ajay as soon as they saw him.

Ajay quickly ducked behind a tree and waited for an opportunity. When he heard the rebels get close enough he pulled out a grenade, pulled its pin out, and had it cook in his hand before throwing it.

"Grena-"

The grenade exploded in mid-air. A few were launched back from the explosion and many were killed by the shrapnel. Ajay quickly ran out of cover and threw another grenade at their vehicles. He opened fired with his PKM and gunned the rebels down.

The grenade Ajay threw had destroyed a couple of the vehicles, but left one slightly intact. The explosion of the vehicles took out even more rebels and set fire to the grass and shrubbery. Many of the rebels tried to escape the growing flames, but those that tried got gunned down by Ajay. So in the end, the rebels either died by bullets or fire.

Ajay quickly took advantage of the confusion and chaos and made way to the last remaining vehicle. He reached to and hopped into the jeep and took off before his newly acquired ride could catch fire.

"Holy shit that was a close call." Ajay muttered. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He heard his radio crackle to life with someone asking for aid on the other side. Ajay grabbed it and answered. "This is Ajay Ghale. I can help you just tell me where you are."

"We're at the Rochan Brick CO. Storage Outpost! Please, get here as fast as you can."

Ajay nodded and stepped on the gas pedal. He was pretty far from that location. As long as he wasn't hindered too much, he'd make it. Some Golden Path tried to get in his way, but he just sped up and either drove past them or over them. The ones that chased him in vehicles were halted when Ajay pulled out his handgun and fired from behind. He got lucky and just took out the drivers.

Finally he made it to the outpost . . . and it was a mess!

Golden Path Rebels and Royal Army Soldiers were killing each other left and right. Bodies of both factions were lying on the ground in puddles of their own or their enemy's blood.

Ajay floored it and managed to take out two rebels by running them over while several managed to jump out of the way in time. As Ajay sped into the facility, a heavy rebel was in his way, but Ajay didn't slow down. The heavy was distracted with killing Royal Army.

By the time the heavy realized a car was coming right at him it was too late. Ajay lurched forward (always wear seatbelts!) as he hit the heavy. A huge bump and crash and Ajay pinned the heavy between the car and a building. Whether he died from being hit or crushed? Ajay had no idea.

Ajay reloaded and readied his PKM. He got out of the vehicle and opened fire on the remaining rebels. Ajay was a pretty easy target, since he was carrying a heavy machine gun, but he had more fire power and his aim was clearly better. His bullet proof vest became useless after the fifth shot, but by then Ajay had cleared out most of the rebels. As he was finishing his fifth rebel he heard a familiar "Bang" sound. Like the boom of a—

"Canon."

"Poydemte, ublyudki!" (Come on, you bastards!)

Boris, with his huge armored body and loud Russian voice, was firing his equally huge and loud pistol. The bang from the gun caused some of their allies to go temporarily deaf and left fist sized holes in their enemies. Ajay actually saw one guy get a part of his face, literally blown off. Spats of blood and meat got on his friends. Which traumatized them allowing Ajay to easily finish them off.

Soon all the rebels were dead.

Boris laughed heartily. "Ajay, so glad you could join us!"

"Got your distress call. Wanted to help."

"Of course, but you know this fight ain't over yet, da?"

"I know. It's going to be a long day, but it's just like any other."

"How so?"

"I'm still killing Golden Path."

Boris laughed again.

"We got reinforcements coming!" A soldier warned.

"Ajay I got a plan, but I need time to prepare it. Can you hold them off."

Ajay cocked his gun. "You got it."

Boris quickly ran into the garage to prepare whatever he had planned.

"They're coming! Ghale head to the roof, you'll have a better position from there."

Ajay took the soldiers advice and climbed up the ladder. Sure enough, the Golden Path were coming by vehicle or foot. Thankfully, someone was kind enough to leave a sniper rifle on top of the roof for Ajay to use.

He got down on his belly and adjusted the scope and barrel. He peered through the scope and saw his first target. Then his target was no more.

He saw a jeep come down the road. He fired a round and took out both the driver and the passenger. All that was left was the gunner in the back, but they weren't in a good position to shoot, so they left their position. Ajay put a round in his chest.

Three rebels came from down the hill. And rushed into the outpost. They instantly got into a firefight with the Royal soldiers. Ajay lined up his shot and sent a round right into the closest rebel's head. The next target was moving too quickly and Ajay missed his shot, but it made the rebel stumble. That stumble cost him his life as the rebel was quickly gunned down. The last rebel was spraying and praying, with no luck whatsoever. So the soldiers just lobbed a grenade to finish him.

Ajay saw more rebels come by car on the other side of the road. Three vehicles came. Ajay lined up his shot, but wasn't aiming for bodies this time. Ajay pulled the trigger and blew out one of the front tires on the nearest jeep.

It swerved and tumbled and skidded across the ground. One of the jeeps accidently hit the jeep causing it to tumble more. They stopped in front of the entrance and opened fire. The gunner in the fallen jeep had fallen out and died from a broken neck. The driver was pinned under the car and couldn't move. The passenger was the only one to come out alive.

Ajay fired two more sniper rounds before having to reload. More and more rebels were showing up and it looked like the soldiers were about to be overwhelmed. Ajay took out three more rebels, but soon he was forced out of his position when the Golden Path fired on him.

Ajay quickly rolled out of the way. Thinking fast Ajay pulled the same trick he did a while ago and tossed a grenade, but this time it was right near all the cars. The Golden Path should not have grouped their vehicles next to each other. The explosion rocked the earth and killed every rebel that got caught in the blast. Well, except one, but Ajay put a bullet in him with Sixer.

The soldiers cheered in victory and then Boris called him into the garage.

Ajay walked in and saw Boris' truck.

"Excellent work out there Ajay." Boris complimented. "I just finished the repairs. She's ready to go."

"Go where?" Ajay asked.

"To the Rochan Brick Factory. Noore gave those rebel shits the place to mount a better defense. It's basically a resupply depot and infirmary for them. We're gonna hit them where it hurts!"

Ajay nodded and Boris got into the driver's seat. "Get on the back." Ajay did what he was told and saw the back was filled with ammo crates and weapons. Ajay smirked and got into position.

"You ready? Let's go!"

The truck took off. Ajay readied all his guns, making sure their clips were full and well maintained. Ajay mounted his machinegun just in time to see Golden Path on the road.

"There they are Ajay! Give'em hell!"

Ajay fired and blasted any rebels that were in his sights. In turn they shot back, of course. Ajay killed three on his right, then two on his left. Ahead of them were two Golden Path vehicles that were in their way. Rebels took cover behind them. Boris sped up and plowed right through them. Toppling the cars and killing the Golden Path behind them.

Ajay reloaded and waited for the next assault.

"This is madness, eh Ajay?"

"You can certainly say that again." Ajay said seriously.

"Almost reminds me of my time in Russia. Went into this city that just went on a chaotic riot. People were killing people left and right, you could barely tell who was friend and who was foe."

"Sounds horrible."

"Aye, it was." Boris said grimly.

They were soon ambushed by Golden Path that were hiding up on some kills. They launched grenades and shot at them.

"Don't worry Ajay, this truck's sturdy. She'll hold, now why don't you respond in kind?" Boris chuckled.

Ajay took out his grenade launcher, the GL-94. He adjusted the site and lined it up. A fired just perfectly and blew up the Golden Path atop the hill. Some survived and just kept shooting, but enough grenades soon wiped them out. Ajay faced the next hill and aimed for some red barrels on the side. They exploded in a fiery blaze, which caught the Golden Path.

Some were killed by the explosion and others were lit on fire. The ones to survive only lived a few second when Ajay reloaded his weapon and finished them off.

"We got company! Behind us!" Boris yelled.

Ajay turned to see several vehicles behind them. Ajay quickly pulled a grenade pin and let it roll to the ground. The first vehicle drove right over it when it exploded. The vehicles behind it still came however, with gunman shooting 50 cals. Ajay unloaded his grenade launcher, taking out two, before switching to the PKM. Ajay shot the drivers halting them.

Boris then drove into a massive scene between the Royal Army and the Golden Path.

"Let's give our brothers a hand, yes?" Boris said. He pulled out his Cannon and began firing away, while running over anyone too stupid to not move quick enough.

Ajay aimed his machinegun and fired at anything and everything in sight. Many rebels fell dead. This allowed the Royal Army soldiers to advance.

They were nearly there.

"Here we are Ajay, Rochan Brick Factory." Boris announced.

Ajay looked to see brick building with a large smokestack right on top of it spewing out black smoke into the tranquil air. All around were bricks that were set up to be walls, but looked like they were unfinished and just abandoned. From what Ajay heard, Pagan used this place to refine his drugs, namely heroin. This place was under Noore's jurisdiction, but since Noore turned traitor she handed it to the Golden Path as a base of operations.

"Looks like they've been busy." Ajay said, taking note of the rebels stacking the leftover bricks to create barricades and walls.

"Yes, indeed." Bois smirked. He stepped on the gas pedal and plowed right through a barricade that the Golden Path were working on. Destroying all their hard work. "Oops! Did I do that?" Boris laughed. Ajay smirked at the Russian's antics.

The Golden Path were now on high alert after that. So Ajay wasted no time in firing his weapon. Many of the Golden Path ducked behind the bricks for cover and opened fire on Ajay and the truck, but Ajay was as defended as they were.

Boris plowed through people and brick and just drove around the compound. The Russian would put on his ballistic mask, roll down the window and fire his Canon from the driver seat, laughing like a maniac as he did.

Ajay though wasn't laughing or enjoying himself. He merely focused on the task at hand and fired at anything that moved or shot at him. Mostly the latter. Despite the rebels taking up defense behind the brick, they had to stick their heads out sometime to shoot and the bricks only lasted so long against constant fire. Ajay shot them all down. Rebels took defensive positions on the roof, but they had little to no cover up there and so Ajay easily shot them down.

Some rebels came out of the building itself, but that was the worst place to be. They caught Ajay by surprise at first, but after the second and third wave it was quite easy to finish them with a well-placed mine.

Everything was going smoothly. Until they heard a foreboding trumpeting sound.

Ajay tried shooting at the elephant, but it was too late, it smashed right into the side of the truck, toppling them over. Ajay hit the ground and lost his machinegun under the truck.

After collecting his bearings, Ajay got up and quickly ran for cover as the rider of the elephant shot at him. After safely getting behind cover, Ajay pulled out his grenade launcher, but the barrel was unfortunately crushed when he landed.

"Fuck!" Ajay cursed. He checked the rest of his arsenal and only his Sixer and Bow were fine. "Not great options." Ajay sighed.

"What's the matter, Ajay? Why are you hiding like a coward? Come out and face me like a man!"

Ajay recognized that voice, but he could barely believe who it belonged to.

He peered slightly out from his hiding spot, but quickly ducked back in when assault rifle round shot just where his head was.

"Sabal." Ajay groaned angrily.

In the brief glimpse he got of the rebel leader, he saw the man was heavily scarred and bandaged, riding atop the elephant. He held a modified black AK-47, complete with a red-dot sight, an extended magazine with yellow images of the Golden Path, and a suppressor barrel.

"If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you!"

Ajay heard the thundering steps of the elephant and he quickly ran just before his cover was crushed by the large land mammal.

Ajay unsheathed his bow and pulled out one of his explosive arrows. He pulled the string back, but Sabal fired his assault rifle before he could get a good aim. The explosive arrow missed the elephant exponentially and exploded far away.

Still running from the pachyderm and gun fire, Ajay was waiting for a good moment to strike. He pulled back an arrow again and launched it faster, but panic took over him and he still missed. The arrow took out a piece of the building, but it was much closer than last time.

"Karma is on my side, Ajay!" Sabal smiled. "I have endured and suffered in the name of Kyra and my country and the universe is rewarding me for it. Give up now and accept your fate. A fate where you are dead under the foot on my land's most majestic animal."

"I know he's full of himself, but when did he become so annoyingly magnanimous?" Ajay asked himself.

Ajay jumped out of the way before an elephant's foot crushed him. Sabal kept firing rounds at him, but since Ajay was much closer, it was difficult for him to get a good shot. Taking a chance Ajay ran behind a wall of bricks, but it wouldn't last long as cover, so he had to work fast.

Pulling the string back with the arrow, without even thinking or aiming and just going on pure instinct, Ajay let loose the arrow. The arrow flew and found its mark in the eye of the elephant. Half the elephant's face was blown off from the explosion and Sabal fell right off.

Sabal didn't groan despite falling from such a height. He got back up no problem and readied his weapon. But the clicking of a cocked hammer from a gun drew his attention. Right in front of him was Ajay with his Sixer pistol aimed right at him.

Silence was shared between the two as they stared each other down.

Ajay was the first to break the quiet. "This time I'll put a bullet in you myself."

Sabal smirked cockily. "Do it."

Ajay raised an eyebrow.

"Go on. Pull the trigger. I'll still live."

Ajay stared incredulously at Sabal.

"I'm less than ten feet in front of you. I can kill you right here right now without any worry." Ajay said seriously.

"Then do it."

Dumbfounded. Ajay couldn't understand where all this confidence was coming from. Sure Sabal was an arrogant prick, but this was just a whole new level. The Golden Path were back with a vengeance, but that shouldn't give the rebel leader enough confidence to risk his life like this. He wasn't even putting up his hands in surrender! Like a gun being pointed at him was nothing to be afraid of.

For a long moment nothing happened between the two. Ajay just stared and Sabal was looking down the barrel of Sixer with a shit-eating grin.

Then . . . Sabal moved. Ajay's eyes widened. He fired his gun. It all happened so fast, but Ajay could see it happening in slow motion.

Ajay fired his Sixer pistol, but during Sabal's quick dash he moved a bit off the bullet's path and was shot in the shoulder. Eyes widening in surprise, Ajay fired a second bullet. This one hit Sabal in the chest, just below his lung, but the rebel was still coming. Ajay intended to fire again, but Sabal managed to reach him and knock Sixer out of his hand.

Sabal then used his good arm and wrapped his finger around Ajay's neck. Ajay was lifted up into the air like he weighed absolutely nothing.

"What the fuck?" Ajay wheezed.

Sabal smiled up at him. Blood was dripping from his body, but he paid no mind to it. It looked like he was ignoring the pain or just not noticing it all together. How could someone just ignore gunshot wounds?!

"Surprised Ghale? I suppose I have you to thank for that. After you blew me up, my people tracked down a legendary dhami. He healed me and bestowed upon me a blessing from Kyra! Now I feel nothing. No pain, no ease, no coldness, no warmth, no suffering. I'm free Ajay and in that freedom it has given me power!"

Sabal threw Ajay quite a distance and right into a pile of bricks. Ajay coughed and attempted to get up, but he found Sabal right in front of him and smacked him across the face.

As soon as he hit the ground, Ajay tasted blood in his mouth.

Sabal had indeed become scary strong. Ajay heard the rebel leader approach again, but this time he was ready. Ajay gripped a brick, just as Sabal hoisted him up. He slammed the brick right into Sabal's head. The brick shattered, but Sabal was not phased. The only indication Sabal was injured was the blood dripping from his mouth, nose, and the fresh wound on his head, but even that didn't do anything.

Sabal grabbed Ajay by the throat again and lifted him up into the air. Ajay kicked and scratched, but Sabal just laughed at him. It was like a tiger holding a mouse in its paw and was playing with its food before enjoying its meal.

"I told you Ghale. Kyra has blessed me with great strength." He socked Ajay in the gut. "Karma is on my side and you?" Sabal pulled out a kukri. "I shall redeem Mohan's name by spilling your blood and gifting it to Kyra and Banashur!"

Sabal pulled back intending to give Ajay a huge slash, but Sabal was wrong.

*SCREEE!*

Karma was not on his side this day, for a black eagle swooped down and took the blade from Sabal's hands.

"What the?!" Sabal shouted in outrage. "WHO DARES?!"

Out of the bushes came soaring arrows. Sabal got three imbedded in his body the rest he managed to avoid by pure luck.

"Hunters!" Sabal growled. He saw many hooded figures moving all around him.

"Hey!" Sabal turned around to see a very angry Boris. "You trashed my truck. That alone warrants your death, but beating up Ajay?" He aimed Canon at Sabal. "Now you die slowly fucker."

*BAM!*

Sabal barely got out of the way of that shot, but he saw the impact that the Russian's gun made on a brick wall. He could see right through the hole it left.

Not liking his odds, between, the Hunters, and the Heavy Soldier, and a recovering Ajay, Sabal decided to make a reluctant tactical retreat. He ran, avoiding arrows and gun fire, and dive-bombing eagles.

He made it to a vehicle, but before he drove off he shouted, "This isn't over, Ajay! The Golden Path aren't finished! We'll liberate our country from Pagan, you, and all of those who do not follow in the path of Mohan!"

The vehicle sped out of the area, kicking up dust as Hunters and Boris shot their ammunition at him.

Ajay was still on all fours on the ground. He was coughing. He could feel the bruises left on him by Sabal and his unnatural strength. One of the hunters approached.

"Are you okay?"

It took Ajay a second to realize it was Nisha.

Finally catching his breath, he managed to tell her he was alright. "Go to Boris, he needs more aid then I do." Ajay said.

They looked over and saw the Russian leaning against his tipped car. He was clutching his chest and rubbing his leg in pain. Nisha ordered her people to look at him too.

"Thanks for the save." Ajay said.

"Hey, you saved my life numerous times. So what's say we call it even now?" Nisha smirked.

Ajay laughed which caused him to wince in pain. "No way."

They both laughed. Then they heard helicopters flying in the distance. Several of them flew out of the horizon of the trees. Three began to circle while one descended to the ground. This one, however, looked familiar.

"Hey, Ajay!"

"Hurk?"

When the helicopter landed out came Hurk, wearing a pilot's helmet and headset. The guy was smiling like a kid with a new toy and then motioned to the helicopter.

"What do you think? Pretty nice right?" Ajay looked at the helicopter and saw the Golden path symbol washed off and replaced by the Royal Army symbol. From the sound of it, it had a tune-up too.

"They let you keep it?" Ajay said almost unbelievably. Hurk could just barely fly the thing!

"Yep, you're looking at the proud owner of this beautiful bird. So, you ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?"

"Didn't you get messaged from that weird pink suit guy?"

Ajay pulled out his radio and saw that someone was indeed trying to contact him.

"Shit!" Ajay cursed. "I was so busy fighting I didn't notice." Ajay quickly hit the respond button. "Hello?"

"Ajay, finally!" Pagan exclaimed. "I've been trying to contact you for almost an hour now."

"Sorry, Pagan. I got sidetracked."

"I'll scold at you later. Have the helicopters arrived? I sent your American friend with the entourage too."

"Yeah they showed up. Hurk's in front of me. What's going on?"

"Well, you know how Varshakot lays in ruin?"

"Yeaah?"

"Well the weapon that ruined it is plowing through my forces and is heading straight for the King's Bridge."

. . .

A barricade had been set up on the main road. They were there to halt any more Golden path advancement. So far they had been quite successful with minimal casualties.

But that changed when they heard the loud roar of an engine. The soldiers prepared their weapons, including their .50 Cal. Guns mounted on their trucks. They had also prepared landmines and grenade launchers. It was no wonder nothing had gotten passed them.

They assumed the roaring was from a large group of Golden Path coming in on many vehicles. So it came much of a shock to them when they saw it was just one huge vehicle.

It was a custom truck, something close to a semi. It was huge and heavily armored. The front of the truck had a shield with large rusted spikes jutting out of the grill. On the top of the truck was some kind of barricade shield with a fifty caliber machine gun behind it. Eight wheels pushed it through the dirt road kicking up huge clouds of dust. On the back of the truck was a gas tank that also looked like it was heavily modified.

Despite being caught off guard by the unorthodox vehicle the Royal soldiers fired on it. The fifty cals went off and the grenades were launched, but they were stunned to see the truck not slowing down the least. The bullets seemed to bounce off it and the grenades didn't have much effect. When it ran over the mines, it didn't slow; in fact, it accelerated, taking out every mine in its path.

The soldiers didn't even have time to curse as the main gun fired on them. The trucks were torn apart along with its occupants. The truck rammed right through the barricade, taking out the trucks and blockades with ease. The soldiers that didn't get shot jumped out of the way of the rampaging machine, but their survival didn't last.

Inside the cylindrical gas tank were Golden path rebels armed to the teeth. Long slits were cut open on the sides. And large machine guns stuck out of them. They shot any soldiers within their sights. The ones that didn't get shot were then torched by flamethrowers. And finally if they survived that, on the back were rocketeers firing RPGs. Finishing off all the vehicles and soldiers within the vicinity.

It was quick, it was devastating, and it was beautiful. The perfect killing machine. All over this vehicle drove. Taking out Royal Army forces with quick and overwhelming ease. Soldiers were shot, burned, blown up or just plain run over. Some corpses were hanging off the bloody spikes on the bumper.

In the sky, Ajay and his entourage of Blackhawk helicopters saw the destruction the weaponized truck left behind. Ajay couldn't help, but be in awe and everyone was in the same position.

"That thing would be so cool if it wasn't trying to kill us!" Hurk said over the radio.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"THAT is what knocked down Varshakot like a house of cards, Ajay." Pagan replied.

"It's like a tank, but more versatile." Ajay noticed from his safe distance. "It's obviously custom. The Golden Path must have payed top dollar for all that thick reinforced armor on it otherwise a simple mine would have finished it. Thick damage-proof tires, bullet proof glass with added bars, high caliber weapons for extra punch."

"It is indeed impressive." Pagan said offhandedly. Almost like he actually did admire it. "The Golden Path must have been working on that for months. Wish we thought about something like that thing."

"Are we sure aerial force is even going to have an effect on that thing?" Ajay asked unsurely.

"No, but ground forces aren't doing anything either so we may as well try." Pagan said.

"Well in that case," Ajay cocked his machine gun, "let's give this thing hell people!"

The helicopters went in and opened fire on the truck. The sound of bullets clanging against metal reverberated through the land almost as much as the sounds of gunfire. Of course the truck shot back with almost equal force. The gunner on the top of the truck was well protected and managed to take down one copter.

Even though the truck was being hammered on all fronts it didn't stop in killing every Royal Army soldier in its path. Another helicopter went down from a rocket.

"This is ridiculous!" Ajay roared. Hurk maneuvered the helicopter to avoid gun shots and an incoming RPG. "This thing is barely feeling our onslaught. What the hell kind of armor did the Golden Path buy?!"

"Whatever it was it was well worth it!" A soldier said through the radio.

"I hope it at least made their wallets bleed!" Another soldier added spitefully.

"Like it's making us bleed!?"

Ajay saw the top of the gas tank of the truck shutter open. He couldn't quite see what was inside, but he quickly realized what it was when two objects shot up into the sky.

"MORTARS!"

"Taking evasive actions!"

The helicopters swerved and motioned to avoid the oncoming attack. Ajay heard the whistling sound of the mortars quickly followed by the fiery explosion. One helicopter was completely bombarded and destroyed before long hitting the ground. The last helicopter managed to avoid a lot of raining fire, but it too fell after being hit in the pilot seat.

All that was left was Ajay and Hurk's helicopter.

"Hang on man, I'm gonna try something!" Hurk said pushing several buttons and flipping many switches.

"Hurk?"

The helicopter began to spin wildly, dropping then rising randomly. It was like the worst carnival ride in the world. Ajay hung onto dear life as the helicopter went crazy.

"Hurk, what the hell are you doing?!" Ajay roared.

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean not sure?! Didn't you read the manual?"

"I was going to do that, but then they told me you needed help and just . . ."

Ajay would have yelled at Hurk more, but they were still being attacked by mortar fire. Through the chaos, Ajay could see the rest of the copters get blown to smithereens. After several long moments, they cleared the range of the mortars and the tank-truck as well. They were slightly damaged, but their helicopter would survive.

Ajay wobbled a bit as he tried gaining his balance back. After swallowing the bile rising up in his throat, he glared at Hurk.

"Hurk the next time I get on this helicopter you better have read that entire manual left to right or I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Hurk laughed nervously.

Ajay picked up his radio and contacted Pagan.

"Pagan, it's Ajay. We failed. We couldn't stop that thing. It's still coming. I . . . I don't know what to do."

"It's alright Ajay." Pagan said reassuringly. "You tried your best, but I think we may have something that could help."

"What?"

"The Golden Path have hijacked one of our trucks. A chemical truck full of highly toxic and explosive chemicals. They're going to use it to blow the gates off the King's Bridge."

"And then have that monstrosity come through and plow everything in its path. Fuck."

"Precisely. But they're going to regret their little over-reaching."

"Huh?" Ajay didn't understand.

Ajay could practically feel the evil smile on Pagan on the other side of the radio. "That chemical truck they stole will have enough oomph in it to destroy the King's Bridge's heavily fortified gate with ease. What do you think said truck could do to say . . ."

"That armored vehicle."

"Correct-o-mundo!"

"Send me the coordinates Pagan and I'll deal with the rest."

"I knew you would Ajay. Sending you the coordinates now. Do take pictures!"

"You get that Hurk?"

"Got'em! Heading there now."

It took a while to get there, but they saw the truck escorted by a couple Golden Path jeeps.

"So how are we going to capture that truck again?" Hurk questioned.

"You're not. I am." Ajay answered. He was fastening something to his outfit.

"Yeah, but how?"

"Just stick close and leave the rest to me."

Without warning, Ajay jumped out of the helicopter. Keeping his body straight as an arrow, Ajay then swung out his arms and legs revealing him wearing a wingsuit, courtesy of Aarush. Ajay made a note to thank the armorer for procuring these.

Ajay dived right for the back vehicle. He steadied himself and waited for the right moment to grab the unsuspecting car. With unimaginable skill he didn't even know he possessed, Ajay grabbed onto the driver's side door and opened it. The driver was so shocked to see him his face remained that way even when Ajay shoved his kukri into his throat. Ajay then kicked the driver into the passenger, knocking both man and corpse out of the car. Ajay saw a pistol on the dashboard, grabbed it, and shot the two rebels in the back of the car. Ajay had killed four men in a moving vehicle in less than five seconds. All without slowing down.

"Dude!" Hurk called in excitement. "How did you—that was—I have no words." Hurk was literally speechless. Ajay just smirked.

He stepped on the gas and accelerated forward. Ajay passed the truck and went right toward the second escort vehicle. Ajay got right up to the rebels which finally made them take notice of him. Ajay shot the driver which caused the car to slow down and be pummeled and toppled by the truck behind it.

The remaining rebels in the truck opened fire on Ajay. Ajay pressed the brakes a little to slow down and get behind the truck. He stayed right behind them to prevent them from shooting him. There was a ladder on the side of the truck and he went for it.

Ajay jumped and grabbed it. He pulled himself up and carefully walked across the tank. When he made it to the end he dropped down into the driver's seat, stabbing the man in head. He then sliced off the passenger's hand when he aimed a gun on Ajay. Ajay then kicked both out of the truck.

"Hurk, I've got the truck."

"Nice man!"

"Can you lead me to that monster truck?"

"Sure thing man." Hurk's helicopter flew over and began leading Ajay to the way. "Follow me."

On the way there, Ajay's radio buzzed, but instead of Pagan or some other Royal Army ally, it was Amita.

"Ajay!" Amita seethed. "You just can't help, but be a nuisance."

"I could say the same about you." Ajay retorted.

"Fine, take the chemical truck. I just thought it would be easier to breach the Bridge with it, then just using brute force with our ultimate weapon. It doesn't matter. You won't be able to defeat the Ḍrāgana."

"Drag-what?"

"Ḍrāgana, it's the word dragon in our tongue. Fitting don't you think? An unstoppable beast capable of great destruction and total annihilation. It's a simple and crude creation, but the Golden Path has been working tirelessly to make sure it outmatches anything the Royal Army has."

"I'm sure it cost you an arm and a leg."

"And look how many arms and legs we got back."

"Shame it ends here. I'm going to slay that dragon."

"With what? You have a magical sword stowed somewhere in that knapsack of yours?" She asked sarcastically.

"No, but I do have a truck full of explosive chemicals going about fifty miles an hour toward that monstrosity of yours."

Amita finally realized what Ajay was doing. "Shit!"

"Oh yeah. Get ready, Amita. Your day's about to take a turn for the worse." Ajay cut the connection and kept driving on.

Amita must have sent Golden Path to stop him because he came across many rebels on the way. Some set up road blocks which he just ignored and crashed right into. In fact, that's just what he did. Ajay ignored every distraction that got in his way and just kept going.

"We're almost there Ajay! I can see the Dragon-thing up ahead." Hurk announced.

"Up ahead?"

"Yep."

"Shit!" Ajay made a sharp turn, veering off the path to his target.

"Ajay, where're ya going?"

"I can't just head straight toward it Hurk! Its fire power will destroy me before I can even get within twenty yards of it."

"Then . . . what do we do?"

"I . . . I'm not sure. You have a bird's eye view, can't you give me something?"

"Uuhhhh . . . . ."

Hurk looked around his area trying to see if there was a way to take the vehicle by surprise. He hurried too as the Ḍrāgana was getting closer to the King's Bridge. Then he saw it, his imagination working overtime as he thought of a plan so crazy it just might work.

"Ajay, you still got that wingsuit right?"

"Yeah?"

"How would you feel about going for another flight?"

Hurk told Ajay his plan and the Kyrati-American wanted to instantly shoot it down, but realized it might be the best option of getting close to take out Ḍrāgana, however dangerously stupid it was.

"Alright Hurk, let's do this."

Ajay floored the gas pedal and he accelerated up a mountain side. Ten minutes passed as he reached a certain point. The King's Bridge was only a few miles away. He was overlooking the main road that usually took people to the north.

As if on cue he saw the Ḍrāgana approaching, mowing down everything in its wake. Soldiers were cut down by bullets, burned to cinders by fire, or just completely destroyed by ordinance.

Ajay revved the engine of the truck, waiting for the right time. The hum reverberated through his body, his focus was sharp, and sweat fell down his face in anticipation and nervousness. Then finally when he estimated the position for the Ḍrāgana, the truck accelerated forward and drove right off the cliff.

Ajay quickly opened the car door. He stood outside the wind gushing through his hair at over twenty miles an hour and increasing by the second thanks to the laws of gravity. He jumped and soared and just seemed to wade through the air gracefully.

He got a good front seat. The truck kept falling and the Ḍrāgana, which was on alert, unwittingly kept moving forward. The crew inside the truck never knew what hit them.

Ajay saw the two trucks explode in a beautiful and horrific explosion. Orange fire and black smoke burst into the air and then changed into a variety of colors, namely green and purple, from the chemicals that were inside the falling truck. Then even more explosion rocked the area and increased the already huge explosions size. Probably from all the ammo and explosives stored in the Ḍrāgana.

Ajay smiled and when he looked up he saw Hurk's copter. He went straight for it and grabbed a hold of the cockpit door. He pulled himself inside and breathed a sigh of relief and excitement. The excitement won out and overpowered his mind. He screamed and laughed in victory. Ajay went over to Hurk and slapped the man's shoulder and back. Hurk laughed with him and even got a fist bump out of the usually stoic Ajay.

As soon as Ajay reported the destruction of the Ḍrāgana he could've sworn he heard sounds of cheering on the other end. Pagan himself let out a boisterous laughed and congratulated Ajay.

Ajay could practically feel the prideful smile on Pagan's face from where he was.

 **Baghadur**

Noore stood on the precipice of her fortress looking down at all of her subordinates. No. Not her subordinates. Her most elite men. Her . . . Faithful.

She watched as they executed people. Royal Soldiers, Paul's men, civilians, basically anyone that got in her way. She saw men and women being gutted with blades. Some fed to starved or drugged animals. Some were just locked in cages and were being shipped to the Arena. But most people were tied to stakes and then burned alive.

Noore looked out into the distance. Smoke was rising into the sky from fires that she and her men started. Burn. Let it all burn.

Let them feel pain.

"Like I've felt pain. I want this whole country to feel my suffering."

"Noore!"

Noore turned her head to see Amita walk up to her.

"Withdraw your men. The Ḍrāgana has been destroyed." Amita said frustratingly.

"Very well."

Noore didn't much care. She had no idea what this "Ḍrāgana" was, only that it was the Golden Path's only trump card to take the north.

"Ajay destroyed it in the most unlikely way. He dropped a fucking truck on it."

Noore looked at Amita. She couldn't see the rebel leader's remaining eye only the black eyepatch. Despite losing a good chunk of her depth perception, the girl known as "The Tiger" did not lose the ability to aim and shoot a gun. If anything she had gotten better.

Amita had mostly stayed west of the battle. Using her Tiger Squad and her amazing sniper skills to pick off stragglers. Noore would have definitely had more prisoners if it weren't for Amita thinning out the herd.

"It doesn't matter." Noore said in genuine uncaring. "This war hasn't ended yet. Sooner or later, we'll all get what we deserve."

Amita turned her head to have her good eye look right at Noore. She raised an eyebrow. That was a very vague thing to say.

Ever since Amita and Sabal revealed the truth about her family, Noore had become . . . somewhat unhinged. To the point where it seemed like she was as mad as Pagan or even . . .

"Sabal failed to kill Ajay." She gave a combination of a scoff and chuckle. "He kept spouting how he would kill Ghale because Kyra and karma were on his side. Nonsense. He's grown cocky since given his so called "blessing.'"

Noore didn't say anything to that. She didn't worship Kyra and what use was karma to someone like her? She looked across the land and saw all the pain and suffering she was deliberately causing. She had no karma. She never did. The losing of her life, her family, and her morality was proof of that. What did she ever do to deserve all of this? Had she committed some great sin in a past life? It was the only explanation to her after she lost everything for no reason.

"It doesn't matter." She repeated. "Whatever force protects Ghale, divine or karmic, it will not save him from my wrath. It will not save Pagan Min from my wrath." She girt her teeth and growled like a tiger. "They and their allies will all die for the crimes committed against me." She sighed dreamily. "I can already hear the laughter of my children behind the screams of my burning enemies."

Amita took that moment to walk away. Noore had made her skin crawl with those comments. Truth was a dangerous thing. By revealing the truth to Noore, they had broken her mind even further then Pagan ever did. Though he did help significantly. Now the woman who was once known as "the Slave" was now being called . . .

"The Priestess of Pain"


	12. Hearts and Minds

Chapter 12

 **Hearts and Minds**

" _Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." – Mattie Stepanek_

* * *

"Well this is a fine mess."

Pagan, his Cabinet, and Ajay were back at the Royal Palace. They were discussing this recent battle in the south and the continuation of the civil war. Suffice to say, things could be better.

"Things could definitely be better." Muttered Ajay.

"I'm really sorry about this, Ajay." Pagan said with great sincerity. "I thought after you got here, we'd be able to end this war quickly. It seems though we have our work cut out for us."

"It's okay, Pagan. Nothing truly earned was ever easy."

Pagan smiled fondly. "Your mother's words."

The two shared a brief moment before they returned to their uncomfortable cabinet members. One of them grunted to garner the attention of the King. It was Kiaan Dabar.

"Oh yes, what were we discussing about again?"

"We were discussing on where to put our current troops." Kiaan answered. "It will be a while before we can recruit more to the army after the significant loss of life in the south. So we'll be spread thin for a long while."

"No matter." Pagan said unconcerned. "The northern forces have more elites then the south. The southern armies were more a militia of criminals then actual soldiers. Hell, most of them ARE criminals before and after the last battle."

Ajay could agree to that. Most of Paul's and Noore's men were a bunch of low life scum that Pagan had freed from Kyrat's prisons just to bolster his army. The things Ajay heard about them and what they did to the south . . . it wasn't pretty.

"Speaking of . . . it seems all of Paul's soldiers have turned rogue. Now they've become a large renegade of bandits and cutthroats. Pillaging anything and raping everyone they come across. Golden Path and Royal Army alike."

"What were they before?" Pagan scoffed. "Bunch of traitors. I give them all the pleasures and freedoms they could ask for and this is how they repay me?"

"Should we send a force to deal with them?" A member suggested.

"Not right now. As said, we're stretched too thin and the leaders of the Renegades are spread all over. We'll deal with them in time. Maybe kill some of them for practice before dealing with the Golden Path. Right Ajay?"

Ajay just nodded.

"There's also Noore and her army of fanatics." One member added.

"Ah, yes. These "Chosen.'" Pagan drawled annoyed. "If the dacoity aren't raping my kingdom, Noore is having her fanatics raising it to the ground."

"What are they fanatic about?" Ajay inquired. "I don't know much of the religion here, but I don't think they're worshiping Kyra or Banashur."

"They aren't. They're worshipping some witch-goddess." A cabinet member scoffed. "They're getting high off drugs and sex and thinking some witch is blessing them. And they believe that Noore is their prophetess. Someone who speaks for her."

"Don't forget that they're honoring their goddess by sacrificing everything they can get their hands on by burning it to ash."

"Namely the entire kingdom of Kyrat." Ajay said.

"Exactly."

"In short: just a shit load of nonsense." Pagan said. "What they choose to huff and fuck to is irrelevant. I only want to know how to take them down?"

"We are working on that, Your Highness. Right now we're gathering intelligence on Noore and her Chosen."

"And if I may interject, King Min." Everyone turned their heads to the sole African man in the room.

"Yes, Longinus?"

"I'm currently working on finding the location of one of Nasas' armories. With your permission I'd like to pull together my info and your spy network's information to see if we can't pinpoint one of his major depots."

"Permission granted." Pagan said without hesitation. "The more guns we take from the Golden Path, the more armed we'll be to kill them all."

"And the less armed the Golden Path will be too." Ajay added.

"Right, yes, good. So, let's sum-up everything that's gone to shit." Pagan listed each one with a raised finger. "Paul's been captured, Varshakot's levelled, Noore's defected, Paul's men are now a bunch of bandits, Noore's burning the land and people, the south is in tatters, the north is shell-shocked, and our forces are greatly diminished. Is that everything?"

"Yes, my lord." Everyone responded.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Pagan sighed sarcastically. "Right now we need to focus on getting more people to our side."

"May I suggest a draft, your Highness?"

"Of course not! We need a more delicate touch at the moment. And I have the perfect plan for it. Ajay!"

Ajay stood up from his seat.

"I have a job for you. How would you like to meet the newest voice of Kyrat Radio?"

 **The Ministry of Public Affairs and Social Harmony**

Ajay was taken to the farthest parts of the north-western side of Kyrat. There on top of a large hill was the building of the Ministry of Public Affairs and Social Harmony. Ajay heard these guys all the time on the radio whenever he liberated a bell tower from the Golden path.

His honest opinion? Ajay thought they were boring as fuck! He hated to admit it, but Rabi Ray Rana was a better Radio Host then whoever was spewing the Royal Army propaganda.

From what he heard, the Ministry dealt with, as is said on the box, "Public affairs and social harmony." He assumed that meant that they dealt with small crimes like thievery and alcohol bootlegging and settled village and domestic disputes. They tried to keep the people of Kyrat peaceful and complacent. Pagan had once told Ajay that Kyrat would have been in much worse shape if he didn't have the Ministry.

Ajay walked in and was instantly greeted by Minister Pradva.

"Ajay! It is so good to finally meet you! I've heard good things about you. Great things! The people just adore you for what you do for them. Well not everyone, half of the people want you dead, but that doesn't stop you. No sir! You're a doer and doers are what we need right now! Am I right? Hahaha!"

As the Minister grabbed Ajay's hands and shook them almost violently in greeting, Ajay got a look at the Minister. He had a mop of black hair that was clearly a toupee. He was short, standing 5'6, his skin tone was rather pale like he'd never stepped out in the sun in a long time. His eyes were a light shade of black and he had teeth that were unsettlingly white and blinding. His smile seemed both worn and practiced, like he always forced it. If he was back in the states, Ajay would assume he was a car salesman. Makes sense, both try to sell bullshit to people.

Ajay managed to get his hands away from the over-cheery Minister. "Thank you for those kind words . . . Minister Pradva. But I'm in a bit of a hurry." That wasn't true, he just didn't want to be around this guy.

"Oh, of course! Look at me, wasting the time of King Min's most important person. My apologies Mr. Ghale, I did not mean to take up your very precious and important time. Please follow me."

Ajay did just that and followed Minister Pradva through the building. Inside he saw people working on computers and filing reports and papers. In another room he saw printing presses, producing posters and other propaganda.

They walked up a flight of stairs and approached a thick wooden door. On the outside he could hear a woman's voice. When Pradva opened the door, Ajay saw a kyrati girl sitting behind a table speaking into a microphone. Behind her were machines with lights, buttons, and knobs. A couple computers and radios surrounded her.

She had short black hair that she kept in a top-knot with hair sticks. Her banes were died a dark blue, which framed her heart shaped face. She had light brown eyes and wore headphones on her head. She wore a small leather jacket over a white tee and a blue skirt over a pair of skinny jeans.

". . . another life taken by the Sky Tiger. Let us have a moment of silence for the father that was taken too early from his family." She saw them walk in and then her face turned to one of surprise when her eyes landed on Ajay. "O-okay, this is Kamala Mala and you are listening to the NEW Kyrat Radio. Let's hear some tunes!"

She flipped a switch on her machine and quickly got up from her seat. She practically darted for Ajay.

"Ajay . . . Ajay Ghale . . . here? In my station?!" She squealed. "First a promotion by the King himself and now I get to meet an actual celebrity and hero?! This is the greatest day of my LIFE!" The girl did an actual victory dance.

"Kamala!" Pradva shouted. "Control yourself! You are in the presence of—"

"Ajay Ghale! Son of Mohan the Traitor, Butcher of Banapur, Champion of Shanath Arena, Killer of Karkadann, and all-time Hero of the People. Truly it is an honor to have you here, Ajay—I mean, Ghale—I mean, Mr. Ghale—I mean—"

Ajay was in awe of the girl's bubbly and nervous nature. She was practically drooling as she touched him on the bicep.

Ajay decided to ease and calm her down, so she'd stop. "You can just call me Ajay." He said to his apparent number one fan. This did make her stop, but her smile was so bright after. Pradva apologized profusely on her behalf. "Look, it's alright. Now King Min sent me here for something?"

This knocked Kamala out of her excited stupor. "Yes! Right! Where are my manners, I'm Kamala. You may know me as the Harmonic Voice of the Ministry of Public Affairs and Social Harmony."

It took Ajay a second before he finally put two and two together and he got—

"You're the voice on the radio that comes on after I take a bell tower?!"

She nodded. That surprised Ajay. The woman's voice on the radio sounded too reserved and calm. It was nothing like this bubbly bubblegum girl before him.

"Yes! And thank you for that! It's nice to be on the air-waves again, even if I'm quite boring to listen to." Ajay gave her a look. "No, no. Feel free to admit it. Kyrat Radio is very boring. We play boring music, boring people are the only ones who talk here, and we're always spewing boring propaganda for King Min."

"Kamala!"

"What? It's true, Minister Pradva. Don't tell me you've never fallen asleep at the wheel hearing the King's radio. It's no wonder we're losing to Rabi Ray Rana and his Radio Free Kyrat."

The Minister looked like he wanted to argue, but ultimately stayed silent because she was right.

"You're right." Ajay answered instead. "The radio could be better."

"Exactly. I thought I was going to be stuck doing propaganda messages for the rest of my life! But a few weeks back, King Min shows up out of the blue and asks me if I'd like to be a real Radio DJ. One to rival Rabi Ray Rana. Of course, I said yes! Now I can play awesome music and talk about more interesting things then just promoting the Royal Army."

Ajay couldn't help but smile. Her excitement was contagious. "That's great and all, but you still haven't told me what I'm here for."

"Oh! Silly me. I need your help to spread my word or the King's word as it is. We need to get more people to sign onto the Royal Army or at the very least, convince them to not join the Golden Path. The less people that join them, the less people you have to fight."

"I can get behind that."

"Right?! So here's what I need you to do. The Golden Path have set up small recruitment centers all over Kyrat. Very well hidden and only found by a frequency shared between the Golden Path and—are you ready for this— Rabi Ray Rana."

"Why is the frequency shared between them?" It didn't make much sense to Ajay.

"Rana builds his own equipment so of course it's on a special frequency made by him. These centers have old radio towers that connect directly to Rabi Ray's radio signal. He also does his propaganda for the Golden Path and so new recruits just eat his shit up."

"Ew."

"IKR! So here's what I'm thinking. Go in there, break their shit up, prevent more recruitment, and do some real damage to the Golden Path."

Ajay was silent, but after thinking about nodded in agreement. "Alright sounds good."

"Awesome! Oh! I got to get back to it—but listen stop by sometime, yeah? It's just really awesome to meet you—okay I got to take this, bye! Hey, welcome back to Kyrat Radio! This time I got a story for you about Crab Rangoon—"

Ajay and Pradva left the room and quietly closed the door.

"She's . . . interesting." Ajay said.

"I'm sorry about that, Mr. Ghale. Kamla has always been an eccentric one, but she's got quite the speaking voice and a way with words . . . when she's not too excited. It's kind of why King Min chose her as the spokesmodel to begin with. She was called the Harmonic Voice long before King Min recruited her."

Ajay chuckled. "I got that."

Pradva pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ajay. "Here's the coordinates. Meet with a scout of ours and he'll tell you all about the center. He can even help you if you require it."

Ajay took the paper. "Thanks."

Ajay left and drove south. He exited his car and saw soldier spying on a nearby settlement. Ajay approached and the soldier turned to him.

"Ajay Ghale?"

"Yeah. You the scout?"

"Names Arju. It's an honor to meet you." Arju lifted up his sniper rifle and continued to spy on the recruitment center.

Arju seemed young. Younger then Ajay even, maybe in his early twenties. He had a handsome face, dark eyes, and black hair that fell down to his neck. He wore padded coat and pants. On his head was a ski-mask.

"So that's it huh?"

Ajay could hear the sounds of gun fire and the clanging of blades. If he really listened he could also hear Rabi Ray Rana on the radios they had there.

"Yeah. So how do you want to play this?" Arju asked.

Ajay looked into his bags to see what he had at his disposal. He didn't have to look long as he pulled out a brick of C-4.

"You good with that sniper rifle?"

"Of course. I'm one of the best."

"Good. Watch my back."

Ajay left and sprinted his way toward the compound. He quickly slid into cover and pulled out Sixer for insurance. Then, Ajay began to creep into the area. He watched the movement patterns of the rebels and made sure not to be spotted in the open by the ones practicing.

Silently, like the predator he was, he moved about the center. He walked up a hill that had the tower and generator. He killed a guard that didn't move at all and dragged his corpse into the bushes. After waiting for a pair of guards to walk by, Ajay placed an explosive to the generator.

Then he made his way to the garage. Somewhat easily avoiding Golden Path, he placed some C-4 under the hood of a car and for added measure placed a mine underneath one of the other vehicles.

Ajay made it to one of the building and headed upstairs. There was only one rebel who was listening to the radio and he spotted Ajay. Ajay quickly took a throwing knife and hit the guy between the eyes. Silencing him before he could give away his position. After that, Ajay placed explosives on all of the equipment that looked important.

Before leaving the building he saw a clipboard with a note on it. It seemed to have a piece of the frequency that the Golden Path and Rabi Ray used together. Thinking it important, Ajay pocketed the paper and left. Finding a good hiding spot, Ajay could see Arju in his position.

"Alright Arju," Ajay said into his radio, "After my signal, shoot at any remaining Golden Path."

"What's the signal?"

Ajay smirked. "Trust me, you'll know it." And then he pushed the button on the detonator.

The entire place rocked with explosion upon explosion. The first to fall was the tower and generator. The generator's explosion took out the foundation of the tower and made it fall like a tree with the sound of groaning metal instead of splintering wood. The tower had taken out two rebels when it fell.

The garage of cars detonated and literally blew the roof off. No car was left intact thanks to the well placed mine. Even the building crumbled itself. Fire and debris rained down and took many of the rebels with it.

The top floor and bottom floor of the building shook and crumbled too from the explosions. Crushing anyone unfortunate enough to have gone inside and many of the people outside were not spared either as they were killed by flung debris.

Shellshocked was the best word to describe the rebels at that point. The attack happened so fast none of them knew how to respond. Especially the ones who were freshly recruited. They all looked like a stunned mess. Then they thought and felt nothing when sniper rounds began to take them out.

Some managed to snap out of it and get into cover. Ajay took that moment to strike while they were disoriented and focusing on Arju. Thanks to all the dust and smoke from destroyed compound, no one saw him coming.

Using his kukri, Ajay stabbed and slashed at anyone wearing a golden sash or blue clothes. No one saw him, but he could see them all. He stabbed them in the back, grabbed their mouths and slit their throats, and the ones that saw him coming were too late to react as they found his blade in their sternums.

To every rebel, death had come from them hard and fast.

The fight wasn't over yet. Arju told him that more rebels were coming to support the remaining fighters, to which there were none. It was too easy, in Ajay's opinion. As soon as the rebels showed up, four each in two cars and one on two mountain bikes.

Arju was indeed an excellent sniper. He shot the drivers of the vehicles and then finished off the bike riders. Ajay took care of the vehicles by shooting his favorite grenade launcher, the M-79. He had gotten faster at reloading with it and it was a cakewalk to finish off every other rebel.

The fight was over. Golden Path bodies littered the place and smoke and dust kept rising into the wind as fires burnt everything the Golden Path built.

Ajay called Kamala. "Kamala, I've destroyed the recruitment center."

"That's great news, Ajay!"

"I also found a piece of the frequency that the GP and Rabi Ray use to communicate with each other. Think you can use it?"

"Can I?! That's terrific news. I'll see what I can do with it. If we can find the rest of the frequency's makeup, then we might be able to backtrack it and find Rabi Ray Rana and shut him down for good."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Thanks again for your help with this Ajay. This will help the Royal Army significantly. Also if you ever . . . heh, you know, aren't busy doing whatever it is you do, maybe you'd—ha I don't know—want to get a cup of tea later? When you're not busy helping out King Min of course!"

The girl was giggling and babbling with her sentences.

"Uh, yeah sure, I guess."

"Awesome! Well, I got to get back too it, listen in on Kyrat Radio, Ajay! I'm going to be big one day!"

Ajay shook his head at the girl's confidence and enthusiasm.

That was when Arju walked up to him. He seemed to be scanning all the carnage Ajay had done.

"Damn, now I see what all the fuss is about." He kicked a corpse. "Didn't even see you coming. You do good work, Ghale." He complimented in a calm smooth voice.

"Thanks?"

"If you ever need a sniper to watch your back, you give me a call alright?"

"Sure Arju. If I need it."

"That's all I ask."

. . .

Ajay laid in wait in a bed of bushes. He had stolen some intel off a Golden Path Courier that mentioned a truck of food coming from this road. The thing was, the food was stolen from villages all over and was being transported for the Golden Path troops.

Ajay thought it was only natural he liberate this food to give back to the villagers.

He heard the roar of an engine and got ready. Ajay saw the truck come from down the road and after waiting he popped out. He fired his skorpion sub-machine gun at the driver's seat. The window shattered from the hail of bullets and the driver fell out riddled with holes.

The truck kept going a few feet more before being stopped by a tree. Ajay quickly got in and drove off.

He didn't have any trouble getting to the nearest village and dropped off the truck. He was greeted by many villagers who praised and thanked him for saving them from starvation. Ajay smiled, glad he was able to help and went over to the nearby outpost.

The outpost was bustling with soldiers. Some greeted him, some nodded to him, some just ignored him focusing on their duties. Then he heard a crackle and squeal come from one of the buildings.

"Hello? Is someone there . . . please send help!"

Ajay entered the building and saw no one manning the radio . . . again! It was weird, in almost every outpost there was someone calling for help over a radio and there was no one to attend to it. Ajay made a note to tell Pagan about this. They could not leave these things unattended and have people possibly die.

"Hello? This is Ajay?"

"Ajay Ghale? Oh, thank Kyra. Please, we need help; some villagers are being attacked by rabid dholes. They're surrounding us as we speak."

"Alright I'll head there now."

"Thank you! These are the coordinates. Hurry!"

Ajay quickly gathered his guns and ammo and left. The soldiers weren't far. It was a short hike over hills and rocks.

He finally arrived and found two soldiers defending three kyratis. Two of them seemed to be tending to an injured civilian.

"Ajay, you made it!" One soldier said.

"How's everything?"

"Alright so far. One civilian has been injured. A bite on the leg, but nothing lethal."

"What are your names?"

"My name's Hiran and this is—!"

They heard some growling and barking coming from the tall grass.

"They're back! Quickly Ghale, grab some ammo from the crate there."

Ajay pulled out Sixer. "I'm already well stocked actually." He pointed his revolver at the grass and fired just as two dholes came running out. But that was only the beginning.

Three more dholes on the other side came running, foaming at the mouth and snarling. Ajay put down the two with his gun while Hiran shot the other. More barking and more came. Ajay had reloaded his gun, but the dholes were small and fast and could shrug off pain like they felt none. One nearly pounced on Ajay when his gun ran dry, but his quick reflexes had him pull out his sawed-off shotgun and blast the hound into oblivion.

"Holy shit! They just came pouring in!" Ajay yelled in surprise. He reloaded both guns as he waited for the next wave.

"And they aren't done yet. Quick grab some mines, maybe that'll deter them."

Ajay nodded and quickly grabbed some mines from the crate. He threw them down at the spots the dholes could attack from and far enough away that they wouldn't harm the soldiers and the civilians.

When he was done the next attack came. There was a howl and then a huge explosion. A dog leg fell from the sky in a bloody smack.

"I hope that took out more than one." The other soldier spat.

"I hope it scared the rest off."

"It didn't."

They heard snarled barking and the hounds charged from the grass again. Ajay fired his shotgun, the spread taking two of them. Then he fired Sixer, shooting one in the head, one in the sternum, and the other in the leg. Another mine went off and from the sound of it, it took out a few dholes. Ajay heard one of the soldiers scream and saw that a dhole had snuck up on him and bit him in the leg.

Ajay quickly came to his aid as he was being gnawed by the dhole. Ajay kicked it off and emptied his clip into the dog.

"You okay?" Ajay said as he reloaded his shotgun.

"I'll live." The soldier groaned.

"Good." Ajay spun around as the dholes came at him. He fired his shotgun at close range killing them all. "Man these things are vicious."

"They're sick. What do you expect?"

"At least they aren't honey badgers."

"Thank the gods for that!"

The dholes weren't finished just yet. One more wave came and was put down before the group could finally relax.

"Everyone okay?" Ajay asked.

"Shaken and a little hurt, but nothing we can't survive from." Hiran assured. "Thank you, Ghale. We wouldn't have made it without you."

"No problem."

One of the civilians walked up to him. A woman. She looked to be on the brink of tears.

"Thank you so much for coming to help us." She sobbed. "I thought I would lose my husband here." She looked at the man whose leg got bit.

Ajay smiled. "I'm glad I could help."

"Kyra bless you, Ajay Ghale."

Hiran then walked up to him next. A grateful smile was on his face. "I see why the civs talk about you so highly. Me? Personally I liked you for those racing vids you do."

Ajay laughed. That was apparently how most people knew him. Those vids that Sharma Salsa put up about his extreme racing made him very popular.

"If you ever need someone watching your back Ajay, you give me a call."

 **The Next Day**

Ajay looked through his camera and zoomed in on a small village. What he saw pissed him off.

The dacoity, formerly known as Paul's soldiers, were raiding a village. He saw the lowlife men toss people out of their own homes, take what few precious belongings they had, beat men and children half to death, and rape the women and girls before their loved ones.

Ajay saw a few load some of the villagers into a truck, presumably to take to their headquarters, The City of Pain. After Paul was captured, his men scattered and then regrouped at the City where they decided to abandon Pagan and strike out on their own. A very stupid mistake.

"Alright, enough playing around men!" The leader shouted. "Load up any strong bodied men and useful women onto the truck and then let's blow this place."

Ajay's eyes went wide when he saw the men unload explosives from another truck. Enough explosives to wipe the village off the map.

"I can't let them succeed." Ajay said. He put away his camera and went down to the village without hesitation.

He needed to be stealthy here. If he alerted the renegades to his presence they would no doubt activate the bombs and very likely kill the villagers.

Ajay moved through the foliage crouched. The bandits were completely unaware.

He snuck around a building and jumped up onto the roof. He snuck in through a window and saw below him one of the renegades setting up the bomb. Ajay jumped from the second floor and stabbed the man with his kukri. Ajay then took the dead man's dagger and threw it at a nearby bandit. He quickly ran toward the last man in the room and stabbed him through the chest.

Ajay approached the bomb and disabled it by cutting the appropriate wires.

"One down, two to go. Got to hurry, who knows how long I have before they set it up."

He quickly snuck out the back and ducked into the bushes again. Some poor unfortunate men were patrolling the area and got within Ajay's strike zone. Ajay leaped out of the bushes and stabbed a man in the chest. Then he threw a rock to distract the other man. It was easy to slit the man's throat when he wasn't looking.

Ajay moved onto the next house, which seemed to have been a merchant's hut. Emptied completely, with only the least valuable items littering the floor. Ajay saw two men, one setting the bomb the other watching guard over him.

Ajay took out his bow and lined up a shot. He let go and the guy setting the bomb fell dead thanks to the arrow in his head. His guard jumped spooked, but was quickly silenced as an arrow entered his mouth and out through his neck.

He quickly deactivated the bomb and went back outside.

"This is going to be tricky."

Outside was the last bomb, set between a well and a statue of Kyra. It was out in the open. Stealth wouldn't work because even a blind man would see him coming a mile away. He needed to think differently here. Ajay looked at the truck that was being loaded up with people and valuables. Then he got an idea.

Slowly he made his way to the truck. He took out the drivers by stabbing his throat, then Ajay took out the two loaders with an arrow to the back and a stab to the heart. Ajay motioned for the villagers to be quiet and to grab all their stuff.

They nodded and silently grabbed whatever they could. Ajay led them to the bushes for them to hide. He pulled out a machine gun, a PKM, and walked over to the remaining bandits.

"Are the bombs almost set?" The leader asked.

"Yes, should be ready in a moment."

"Good." He nodded. "Where are the rest of the guys? They should have been done by now."

"Sir!" One of the bandits ran out of a house.

"What is it?"

"Our guys! They're dead!"

"What?"

"Yeah, they—" He didn't get to finish as Ajay opened fire on them. The man was riddled with bullets.

"Shit! It's Ghale!"

Ajay had already freed the captives, so he didn't need to fear about going all out.

The dacoity returned fire, forcing Ajay into cover. It wouldn't help the renegades for long as Ajay sprayed and prayed from behind. He injured several and a couple were killed. Ajay then tossed a grenade taking out several, reducing their numbers drastically.

"Fuck it!" The leader yelled. "Fuck everything and run to the truck!"

There were no complaints, they all ran to the truck.

"Fuck! He took our bounty!" One said after jumping into the back and seeing it empty.

"Forget about it and run!" The leader shouted and jumped into the driver seat.

They kept shooting at Ajay's position, but he didn't bother to shoot back. When they were a ways away he safely left his cover and watched the bandits flee.

"You're letting them escape?" One of the villagers asked, who were coming out of hiding now that the danger was gone.

"Not quite." Ajay said smiling. He pulled out a detonator. "I left them a little parting gift."

On the grill of the truck was a brick of C-4. The bandits were completely unaware of what killed them.

Ajay stayed a while longer to help the villagers clean up. They were so thankful many offered money or some of their more precious belongings. He turned them down, telling them he was just there to help. A couple mothers and one father even offered their daughters to Ajay, which he very politely refused.

"Are you sure there is nothing we can offer you as a reward, Lord Ajay?"

The man that asked was the village elder, Lala Hamib.

"I'm not a lord." Ajay stated. "And no, really, I appreciate it, but I don't wish to take anything of yours. I'm just here to help."

The elder chuckled. "So humble and gracious. I wish you'd arrived sooner, I'd have offered my granddaughter to you for marriage. You certainly seem like a good husband."

Ajay laughed nervously.

"And you should be a lord, you take better care of your people then the other lords did. Perhaps the King can make you a lord?"

"Speaking of, I called Pag-King Min and he's sending some soldiers to relieve you of the bombs and bodies. They're also brining some food and tools for you all. Your village will be fixed in no time."

The elder smiled. "You know ever since you came along, the King has been taking better care of this country."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I can't remember the last time he was so involved or the people so happy. It was usually the Golden Path whose helped us against Pagan's men, but they've been so busy trying to get ahead of the Army they completely forgot about the people. Odd enough it seems they ignore a lot of villages that are attacked by the dacoity." Lala mumbled that last part.

"You think the renegades are working with the Golden Path?"

"I don't know. I don't see why? The Golden Path has always tried to protect Kyrat, now it just seems more concerned about winning its war against the King that they no longer care about us."

"Well, if your ever in trouble again, find an army soldier and ask for me by name. I'll come."

"Kyra bless you, dear boy."

An old woman walked toward the two men. She was carrying a portrait of some kind in her arms.

"Ah, Ajay Ghale, this is my beautiful wife, Misha." Lala introduced affectionately.

"Thank you once again, Lord Ajay for saving our village. I know you said you desire nothing for a reward, but please, take this thangka, I insist. It is one of my best works. I will not let you leave without something from us."

Ajay took the portrait and examined it. It was colorful and had the image of a beautiful woman sitting cross-legged on a lotus. It felt like it was made out of some kind of animal hide.

"So this is a thangka. I've heard about these passing through villages. This is beautiful."

"Thank you, your words are kind. It is the goddess Kyra. And before you can say, I greatly insist that you take it. As a reminder of what you have done for our people."

 **Royal Palace**

Ajay placed the Kyra Thangka on a blank space on the wall in his room of the Royal Palace. He looked at the wall and realized that there was more space for more artworks. He'd have to keep an eye out for more stuff to decorate the room with.

Ajay turned around and looked at the other items he had displayed in the room. Above the television set he had the Black Water Dragon mounted. Pagan had it commissioned to commemorate their first fishing trip. He had it froze in a fierce pose, its maw wide open and sharp teeth bared. He then looked over at a stand next to the couch. On top was Karkadaan's horn and Tenzin's severed paw. The horn was a trophy, a reminder of his victory in the Arena. And the dhole's paw was considered a good luck charm in kyrat, or at least that's what Nisha told him.

Ajay thought the room was coming together and starting to feel like home. Honestly, he felt that everywhere. Kyrat was starting to feel more like home then the States. It was almost like he belonged here. In this country. It's wilds, its towns . . . its wars. It felt like it was a part of him. A part that felt like it was missing for years and only just came back together.

Before he could keep thinking on that there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

A soldier walked in. "Mr. Ghale. King Min wishes your presence."

"Alright I'm coming."

The soldier escorted Ajay to the throne room. This was his second time seeing the place. Pagan said he rarely came here as most of the work he did required him in a tactician's room. The work that he usually did here revolved mostly around the problems of the people and he never got into that and left it up to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Harmony. (You know what that's such a long ass name I'll just call it the MoPAaSH)

It was spacious as you'd expect. Fine rugs, incense, candles, and beautiful artwork. The throne was a giant decorated elephant head statue, with its long tusks as armrests and its trunk as the seat. To each its side was a stylized tiger statue.

Ajay approached Pagan who was sitting on the throne going over some documents with some of his men. When he saw Ajay, the self-proclaimed king stood up with excitement.

"Ajay, dear boy!"

"Hey, Pagan."

He heard a few people mumble about how casual he addressed the king.

"I got some good news Ajay."

"We could use more of that."

"Oh, but this is very good news. You remember Nasas?"

"The Golden Path's arms dealer? Yeah."

"Well, the weaselly bastard has depots spread all over Kyrat, hidden somewhere in the deepest, most inconspicuous places. BUT! Thanks to Longinus, we managed to find the location of one of his biggest depots."

"How'd you do that?"

"Apparently this depot is a yak farm very close to the country's border up in the mountains. A perfect locale for smuggling a large amount of weapons. We . . . "asked" the owner where this farm was and he kindly gave us the location."

"Ah and the bad news is, the Golden Path will quickly realize the farmer has been taken and try to claim the weapons before we do."

"Perfect deduction."

"Just sounded like the obvious reaction. So, I guess I'm going mountain climbing again."

"Yes, but this time, not alone." Pagan smiled deviously.

Pagan led Ajay outside where three jeeps and several armed men were waiting.

"What is this Pagan?" Ajay asked.

"Well Ajay, like any concerned father, I worry about when you're out there fighting all alone. Now, I KNOW, you can take care of yourself, but it doesn't hurt to always have back up, like that Nisha girl, or my dear friend Boris, or even that . . . special American friend of yours, uh Harris, was it? Anyway, these are men that you may call upon for any task at any time. Ajay, I'd like you to meet your new elite force: The Ajay's Fangs."

Ajay looked at the jeeps, they were colored the tradition Royal Army red. Like the Pagan's Wrath squads, they had powerful machine guns mounted on the back and they were heavily armored to take more damage as well as dish it out. It even had its own personal symbol: the head of a snarling honey badger with teeth stained red with blood.

The men were equally impressive, dressed up in high quality body armor, lined with throwing knives, grenades, and extra ammo clips. Each one was armed to the teeth, some carrying A52 assault rifles, a couple carried U100 machine guns, and only one had a sniper rifle, a M-700. Then Ajay realized he recognized a couple of these men.

"Arju? Hiran?"

"Hey Ajay." They Greeted with smiles.

"What are you doing here?"

"King Min personally hired us to join your Fangs. He said he was impressed by our performances and how much of a big help we were to you."

Ajay blinked and then looked at Pagan. "Did you hire anyone that even remotely helped me?"

"No! Of course not! Only the ones that have good track records. You think it was just coincidence that you worked with Arju? He's one of the best snipers in the country. And Hiran here has protected quite the number of civilians. He's saved more lives than taken. He'll be a good guardian to have at your side. Each man here is very skilled and even qualify to join my Royal Guard."

"And I'll be leading this force. Under your command of course, Ajay Ghale."

The man that stepped forward stood in front of all the others. He was tall, standing close to six feet, with a straight back and shoulders. His bald head was covered by a beret, but he carried a helmet under his arm. He had a solid build, caramel skin, and a black soul patch on his chin.

"Commander Sivudu." Pagan greeted pleasantly. "Ajay meet the leader of your Fangs. Sivudu here has led over twenty successful assaults against the Golden Path and is a master tactician. If there's anyone else who can give the Golden Path a run for their money it's him."

Sivudu bowed his head humbly. "You honor me with your praise, King Min."

"Yes, yes, yes." Pagan waved uncaringly. "Do you recall the mission objective, Commander?"

"Secure the weapons depot and its contents."

"Aaand?"

"Aid, Ajay Ghale in any way to insure mission success."

"Great!" Pagan gripped Ajay's shoulder. "You better head out Ajay. No doubt the Golden Path are already on their way to get their weapons. Oh wait, our weapons!" He laughed. "Use these men however you wish. They are at your beck and call. Good luck . . . and go tear up some shit."

 **Utpala Lake**

"This is such a beautiful lake during the warmer seasons. A real shame it's about to be turned into a warzone like the rest of the country." Sivudu said.

Ajay was going over his equipment when he spoke. "You've been here before?"

"Yes. My grandfather took me here to fish when I was young. Good fish and land is perfect for raising yaks."

Sivudu heard a clicking noise beside him and saw Ajay fiddling with a large harpoon gun.

"By Kyra, what do intend to use that on?"

Ajay messed with the gears inside a little more before nodding in approval. "Our quarry."

On Ajay's person he also had a D2 shotgun holstered to his leg, a P416 assault rifle strapped to his back, and his Sixer pistol on his hip.

Sivudu gave Ajay an analyzing look. "Seems like an impractical weapon."

"For the most part." Ajay replied half-heartedly. "But, damn if it isn't a lot of fun."

"Well, you're the boss."

"You alright taking orders from me?"

"I do what I'm told."

"Yet you don't seem too pleased to."

. . .

"Commander Sivudu, enemies straight ahead." Hiran said over the radio.

In the distance, Ajay could see a group of rebels on a hilltop. They looked like they were refueling their snowmobiles.

"Get ready men. Ghale, you ready?"

Ajay placed a harpoon in the chamber. He peered out of his window and took aim. "Ready."

Ajay fired the harpoon. The spear-like projectile soared and hit a rebel square in the chest. Killing him instantly and knocking the corpse back several feet.

The rebels were spooked and turned around to see their enemies. They quickly jumped on their snowmobiles and tried to put up a fight. Tried being the keyword.

Men riding on snowmobiles just wasn't enough against armored vehicles with high-caliber weapons mounted on the top. If the men riding, who had zero protection, weren't shredded by high-velocity bullets, then they were blown up when their rides took too much damage. Even Ajay got in some good shots with his Impaler harpoon gun. Two guys, who were riding with each other, got kabobbed with one harpoon.

"Hiran, Arju, step on it! That won't be the last of them. Our scouts reported trucks up here, so don't let your guard down."

"Roger, Commander Sivudu."

"That was some good aiming, Ghale." Sivudu complimented.

"Thanks."

"I honestly didn't think you'd be much help to us."

"You had doubts?"

"Truthfully? I've heard the stories of what you're capable of. Thing is, they're just unbelievable. I heard you had no formal training and yet you've lived this long with all that conflict raining down on you?"

"I guess I'm just lucky."

"I don't believe in luck. I believe in skill and karma. And it seems you have an abundance of both."

"I don't know about karma, but I've got skills to back me up. That's for sure."

"Trust me, you've got good karma. You must have done something in a past life to give you such great karma. That it's let you live this long in such a war-torn country is proof enough."

Ajay hummed before pointing ahead of them. "Targets twelve o'clock!"

Driving on a mountain ridge were three armored trucks baring the sigil of the Golden Path.

"We're almost there to the farm. We can't let them get there before us. Light'em up!"

Ajay took the first shot. Lining up his gun and firing a harpoon right into the left tire of the truck. There was a loud gun-shot like pop and the truck began to swerve uncontrollably. The guns fired next and all of that steel hail forced the truck off the ledge and plummet down a hundred-foot drop.

Ajay fired at the second truck, but hit it in the back. Unknown to them, the harpoon pierced through the door and skewered a man's head. All the jeeps got into position and opened fired. It took some time, but the second began to steam, catch on fire, and for the finale, explode.

"One left." Arju chimed in.

"Like shooting demon fish with grenades." Hiran laughed.

"Enough joking around." Sivudu said. "Finish off that last truck."

They fired on the truck. The drivers tried to shoot back, but they were unable to, do to lack of men and firepower. All they could do was try to outrun them. And then all they could do was pray when their vehicle began to steam.

"Wait! Hold your fire!" Ajay shouted.

"What is it? We can't let them escape." Sivudu said annoyed.

"We aren't going to. Can you get me close to the driver's seat?"

"What?"

"Can you get me close to the driver's seat?" Ajay repeated.

"Yes, but what do you—"

"Good." Ajay unhooked hos seat buckle. "Then do it."

Sivudu stayed quiet and did as he was told.

He sped up, getting closer and closer to the truck's front. The driver tried shooting them, but Ajay took out his Sixer and suppressed them. When Sivudu finally got close enough, Ajay jumped onto the driver's door and opened it. He shot the driver in the face, splattering blood on his friend and then Ajay kicked the cadaver and the remaining rebel out of the truck and into the snow.

Ajay quickly seated, grabbed the steering wheel and pressed on the gas.

"Holy shit that was awesome!" Hiran shouted.

"So you got the truck. What's your plan Ajay?" Sivudu asked.

"There will more than likely be some resistance at the farm. I figured you guys hang back a bit, while I infiltrate the place and sew some chaos. Then you guys come in and sweep up whatever's left."

"Hm. Not a bad plan. Alright. You're the leader of this operation. Let's do it."

"I'll call you when it's time for you to move in."

Ajay drove up to the farm which was actually very large and nice. And well defended. There were rebels around the perimeter of the place, with some manning .50 cals and even GL-A87 grenade launchers. It was no fortress, but it was heavily defended.

Thankfully he wasn't stopped at the gate. They saw the condition of his truck and that he was alone and likely assumed the worst. They quickly opened the gate and let him through.

Ajay stopped the truck at the far end of the compound and saw a few rebels coming toward him. He panicked a little, knowing they'd recognize him and then saw a pair of sunglasses and a golden bandana on the dashboard. He quickly dawned them before getting out.

"What happened?" The rebel asked.

"We were attacked!" Ajay replied in a tired and scared tone.

"Where's your second?" The rebel asked suspiciously.

"D-dead sir. They came out of nowhere! Pagan's men and . . . and . . ."

"Spit it out!"

"Ghale is with them!"

Whatever suspicion they had was quickly killed at the mention of his name.

"Shit. Everyone man your stations! We got big trouble coming! We can't let Ghale and Pagan get their hands on these guns. Nasas will skin us all if we lose one of his major stashes. Reinforcements should arrive soon, but don't let up on any of them!" The rebel turned to Ajay. "You! Go inside and get your injuries checked out, then come back and help us fend off those Royal Army bastards!"

"Yes sir." Ajay saluted.

When all the rebels finally turned away from him, Ajay dropped his frightened façade. He looked over at a pen of yaks, who were just mindlessly grazing. When no one was looking Ajay walked over to the pen and unlocked it. Then he walked away, heading toward the house building.

He looked again to make sure the coast was clear and pulled out a throwing knife. He tossed it and hit a yak in the bum.

"Moooo!"

The yaks became spooked and rushed out of their pen. The rebels turned around to see what the commotion was only to get smashed aside by a set of horns. The yaks scattered and started to attack anything in their sights. They trampled a couple startled rebels, tossed a few into the air with their horns, making them land forcefully on the ground in great pain, and one yak impaled the leading rebel on its horn. By the time the rebels finally fired on the yaks, killing them all, many rebels were already down for the count.

"Shit! We got a man down! We got a man down!" The standing rebels rushed to the ones still alive and groaning. "Don't worry, we'll get you some aid and—"

*Plop*

They looked at an item that just fell next to them.

*Plop*

*Plop*

"Grenades!"

But it was too late. The grenades exploded and took out the remaining rebels inside the compound. Ajay smirked from inside the building where he was hiding in the shadows. The only ones left were the ones manning the wall.

Ajay pulled out his radio. "Alright Commander, come on in."

"Damn it! What's going on!" A rebel shouted. He heard the sound of roaring engines and saw the Fangs coming up the road. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

The rebels opened fire. Except the one working the grenade launcher because he lost his head to a harpoon which landed on a nearby building with the head sticking on it.

The rebel turned around and saw Ajay firing harpoons from a safe distance. He shot another one taking the arm off of one rebel, killing him. He quickly got into cover when the last rebel shot his machine gun at him. Ajay just casually reloaded the Impaler and aimed it at the remaining offender. It flew and hit the guy in the chest.

Ajay casually walked over to the wooden gate and opened it for the soldiers.

Sivudu walked up to Ajay and then looked at some of the mangled bodies on the ground. Then he looked at the impaled rebels hanging from the edges and walls. "Good job, sir."

The man said that so neutrally Ajay wasn't sure if the man was impressed or disturbed.

"Don't get comfortable yet. The rebels said reinforcements are on the way."

"In that case," Sivudu turned to his men. "Keep the trucks here men. I want a man on each gun. Hiran you take that grenade launcher up there. Arju I want you to find a nice spot and set up your sniper."

"Yes, Sir!" They gave him a salute and went to do what they were told. They parked their vehicles in the front and three soldiers took hold of the machine guns. Hiran got up on the roof and grabbed the grenade launcher. Arju climbed up on the rockface behind the farm and set up his rifle. The rest found positions to defend and attack from.

While Sivudu ordered his men, Ajay was examining his harpoon gun.

"You seem to have a fondness for that weapon."

Ajay looked up at the Commander. "It's more reliable then you'd think. My friend said that it's "the thing in and out of the bedroom.'" Ajay chuckled and surprisingly got a smirk out of the Commander. "Besides," He looked at all the skewered bodies, "It sends a clear message to the Golden Path."

Ajay wasn't really sure, but he saw a look of . . . wariness coming from the Commander.

"Commander! Ghale! The rebels are here!" Hiran shouted.

Ajay got up to his feet. "Let's get to work."

They walked up to the ramparts and got behind some sack walls. In the distance they saw trucks come up the hill with rebels running beside them.

"Too easy."

"Fire!" Ajay ordered.

Hiran shot the grenade launcher after messing with the sight. It blew a truck and a few rebels apart. The machine guns went off and mowed down anything that was in their sites. Several rebels fell dead and a truck blew up from constant fire.

Arju managed to get a good spot and take out a few with his sniper rifle. Several head shots, a few mortal leg wounds, and a couple hits to the chest. It was like shooting monkeys out of a tree.

The rebels managed to make it to cover, but they were pinned down and being slaughtered. Ajay fired his assault rifle. He popped one guy in the head, riddled two rebels with holes, and another got shot in the leg before being gunned down. Ajay saw some incoming vehicles and chucked a grenade. It landed between two cars before blowing up. It didn't destroy the cars and its occupants, but it did soften them up for a volley of grenades from Hiran.

Sivudu looked behind him and saw some rebels sneaking in from the sides.

"Ghale, on our six."

Ajay turned and saw the rebels. He unholstered his gun and shot them dead. He then looked to his right to see other rebels swarming in. He clicked his tongue and jumped down from the rampart. Ajay shot them with his assault rifle, then he pulled out his shotgun blasted away a rebel that came at him with a machete.

Sivudu jumped from the ramparts and stabbed his kukri into a rebel's back who was sneaking up on Ajay. Ajay turned around and saw what Sivudu did. He nodded in thanks. Sivudu walked to his side and they both fired at the entrances the rebels were spilling out from.

The area was a smoldering pile of death. Cars and bodies were smoking from being obliterated and the snow was being dyed red with blood. The area seemed clear and it looked like they won. But it wasn't over yet.

They heard a trumpeting sound.

"Oh shit." Hiran cursed at what he saw. "It's the Elephant Brigade!"

Sure enough two elephants came up the hill with heavily armored riders on their backs and several rebels running beside them. One of those riders was holding a rocket launcher and he pointed it right at Hiran.

"Shit."

Hiran jumped out of the way just before the rocket reached him. It blew a chunk of the wall off and destroyed the grenade launcher.

The Heavy was suddenly hit in the chest by Arju's sniper rifle, but he barely felt it under all his protection. The Heavy saw Arju from his spot and reloaded his gun. He aimed and fired. Arju quickly lept from his spot and landed in the soft snow before his position was completely destroyed.

Again, the Heavy reloaded his rocket launcher and destroyed the barricade. Several men were killed in the explosion, but a few survived. They didn't last long though as the elephant let out a war trumpet and crashed into the cars, crushing men in its wake and then battering through the heavy wooden gate.

The defenses were down and rebels were now piling into the complex.

It was an exchange of gunfore from then on. The remaining men fired their weapons at the living tanks. The riders didn't just sit idly though, they switched to their machine guns and fired away at anyone in their sights. The elephants were left to themselves, they stomped on anyone too slow to get out of the way and they grabbed soldiers that were unfortunate enough to be caught by their trunks.

A soldier let out a scream as he was flung over a building and landed with a sickening crack against a rock. The Heavy killed two more soldiers who didn't get to cover in time. Another soldier was crushed under an elephant's foot. Then another soldier fell to overwhelming gunfire.

Ajay reloaded his harpoon gun and fired into the elephant's neck. It let out a pained wail and turned to its attacker. Ajay fired another harpoon and hit it in the chest. It's thick skin still protected it and charged at Ajay.

He got out of the way before the elephant trampled him, but he had no time catch his breath as he ducked under a hail of bullets from one of the Heavys. Ajay switched to his assault rifle and fired. All he did was partially injure the elephant and its rider.

Their numbers were slowly dwindling and it seemed to get more and more difficult the longer the elephants were around. They needed to finish the behemoths quickly.

Ajay shot dead a few more invading rebels. "Sivudu, hold them off, I'm going to see if there is something we can use."

The Commander turned to Ajay to confirm his order, but shouted something else instead. "Ajay look out!"

Ajay turned around too late as an elephant spun and knocked Ajay away with its trunk. Ajay flew and crashed through the window of the house.

"Ajay!" The soldiers yelled out with worry.

Ajay groaned in pain as he lied on the floor. Slowly he got up, clutching his head because it was ringing like a bell. When his eyesight refocused he saw several stacks of crates wobbling from when he impacted with them. The top crate finally fell and was falling toward him.

He got out of the way just in time. The crate landed and the lid shattered off. Ajay looked at the contents of the crate and he gave a big old grin.

The rebels stood to the sides of the door. They were preparing to attack Ajay in the house. One rebel held up three fingers and counted down. When he hit zero, his second opened the door.

*Boom!*

The second he did he was launched off his feet and fell into the snow. There was a fist sized hole in his chest bleeding like a fountain. The leading assaulter stared wide-eyed at his dead friend and was preparing to attack.

*Boom!*

But the wall exploded behind him and knocked him out into the red snow. Like his buddy, he was dead before he hit the ground.

Everyone had stopped the fighting to see what that loud boom came from. Out of the house walked Ajay. In his hands was a double-barreled rifle, with fresh smoke rising from the holes. The wooden stock was engraved with a golden floral pattern. Ajay reloaded the gun with three-inch-long piercing bullets.

The brigadiers ordered their elephants to charge at Ghale. Ajay aimed his gun and fired. The elephant dropped faster than a sack of potatoes, toppling onto its rider. Ajay looked at the second elephant and got out of the way as the pachyderm crushed the front porch of the house.

When Ajay got a good shot, he blew the animal's brains out. The elephant fell. The heavy soldier quickly got up and aimed his weapon, but Ajay had already reloaded and shot the man in the face. The bullets easily penetrated his helmet and killed him.

Ajay then heard pained groans and saw that the second elephant rider was still alive. He slowly walked over to the man while reloading his new gun. He was begging for help, the elephant's carcass was crushing him. Ajay just stared.

Then he kicked the man's helmet off. Then he started stomping on the guy's head. Again. And again. And again, and again. Until finally His head caved in.

All was quiet.

The remaining Fangs slowly approached their leader.

"You alright?" Commander Sivudu asked.

"Yeah. I just . . . needed to vent."

"Damn. That's a hell of a gun." Arju commented, trying to change the subject.

Ajay looked at the elephant gun he took from the stash.

"Yeah." Hiran agreed. "Good for long distance and short distance shots. Only drawback being it that you got two shots."

Ajay continued to look at the gun before he shifted his gaze to the two dead giants.

"Even then," Sivudu said, "those shots made all the difference in this fight. That gun is fierce."

"Fierce." Ajay mumbled. "Heh, yeah. Fierce. I like that." He looked at his Fangs. "I'm sure Chiffon will love that name to."

The men looked at each other. "Okay guys, call in some reinforcements. Tell them that the sight is clear, and we've got some new weapons. But this," He held out Fierce. "This one is mine."

"Yes, sir." Sivudu said.

"Take whatever weapon you want to. You've guys earned it." Ajay said.

"Oh shit seriously?" Hiran said.

"Yeah."

The remaining men cheered like kids in a toy store. Ajay smiled before going off to find a radio to reach out to the army. The only one not celebrating was Sivudu. He was too busy remembering that look on Ajay's face as he was killing that stuck rebel. That look of total glee as he enjoyed the suffering of an individual. That man's pain, fear, and despair seemed to fuel Ghale.

And the scary thing was, Ajay didn't even seem to notice. As if killing was already second nature to him. Sivudu would never admit it, but he was more terrified of Ghale then he was of Pagan Min. And he wasn't alone in that thought either. Even if the men didn't show it, Sivudu saw the fear on their faces as they watched their leader kill that man in cold blood.

If there was ever a reason to not follow Ajay, it was forgotten after watching him kill most of the rebels in such cruel and ruthless ways. They were starting to see quite the similarities between him and their king.

* * *

 **I know these are a lot of OCs to remember, but don't worry, the only ones you have to remember are Kamala, Minister Pradva, and Sivudu. The rest are just because I want to test out names.**


	13. Treasures

**So I saw the newest trailers for Far Cry 5 and they instantly made me want to update my FC story. I'm super excited for FC5, they're adding wolverines to the game! Fucking wolverines! They're the American version of the honey badger!**

 **This chapter's a bit short, but I got another one to help make it longer. Just need to touch it up and it'll be up soon.**

Chapter 13

 **Treasures**

 _Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. -Mahatma Gandhi_

Ajay grunted as he pulled himself up the face of a cliff. He stopped for a second and looked down. He instantly turned away when he saw just how high up he was. His fear gave him a boost of adrenaline to move faster. Was it stupid to look down? Hell yes, but while he felt fear, it exhilarated him to know that just one mistake, one slip, meant imminent death.

His radio suddenly crackled to life and he answered it reluctantly. "Hello?"

"Are you there yet?"

"Not yet, Yuma." Ajay said evenly. "Almost."

Ajay heard a bird fly right past him, but he ignored it. He already scared himself to move faster he didn't need to do it again.

"Hurry up! I want to see the next piece." Yuma said impatiently.

"You'll get your eyeful. Let me focus on not falling to my death and I'll see you soon. Bye."

He abruptly hung up before she could respond back with some biting remark.

Ajay finally made it to the edge and pulled himself up. There was a simple stone path laid before him and he followed it. At the end of the path was a cave, but when he walked inside he realized it was a temple not unlike the previous location of the last piece of the thangka he found.

A pair of red ornate doors stood in front of him. Above the doors was a sign that said "Kalinag's Door" in Kyrati. He pushed open the doors and was greeted to a tranquil atmosphere. He walked across the room toward a table where the container laid.

The thangka container was being held by some unique looking display. Four golden demons, with snarling faces, facing each other, surrounded by fire, with horns, sharp teeth, and black soulless eyes. It was very macabre looking.

Ajay opened the container and unfurled the thangka. On the thangka were three rakshasa guarding a giant golden door. Then just like last time, Ajay's vision turned white.

 _Kalinag had taken a boat onto the neighboring island in Shangri-La. Here on this island, the laws of nature were defied. Water flowed up a waterfall instead of down. Leaves broke from their branches only to float right back onto their perch. Rocks flew in the air instead of falling to the ground. In the distance was a temple built into the mentioned water fall, but was blocked by the flowing river. As Kalinag moved the flying rocks began to create a path for him to the very temple he needed to go to. As he reached the end Kalinag came upon a set of golden doors. The Sky Tiger roared and the doors opened for them. Entering the temple, Kalinag came upon an odd sight. A Seeker, not unlike himself, was found frozen in midair and blood spurting out of him like a geyser. Floating above him was an ancient wooden bow with five glowing crystals imbedded in the body. A bird flew past Kalinag and as he pulled the string and aimed the bow, he noticed that it had a special power to slow down his perception of time. Entering further into the temple, Kalinag came upon more rakshasa and surprisingly even more dead frozen seekers. With his newly acquired bow, Kalinag slayed the rakshasa from afar. Kalinag searched every Seeker and recognized many of them. They were all sent by the very King of Kyrat to find Shangri-La. Many had wondered if they found it or died trying. Apparently, it was both. After giving a short prayer and taking their medallions to give to their families, Kalinag continued on his journey. Kalinag exited the temple and walked through a glowing door. The doors were like a maze, easily misguiding and led to more rakshasa. Thankfully, the Sky Tiger showed him the proper way and led him to the giant mana-wheels. Once spun, they opened up a door that led to the giant Kyra statue and there he rung the bell of Shangri-La, banishing all demons from the plain. Kalinag turned just as the fog began to cover his eyes. In the distance something jumped from the perch of a far away pillar. A giant bird._

Ajay awoke, bleary eyed and tired. He was laying on the floor of his parent's house.

"Just like last time." He grumbled groggily. He clutched his head, feeling a migraine and sat up.

He looked to his right and saw Yuma staring up at the new piece of the thangka, freshly placed and secure in the frame.

"Welcome back to the real world." Yuma greeted him.

"Was I gone from the real world?"

"You may as well have been. You came back here and placed the thangka in the frame without saying a word. I tried talking to you, but you didn't react. You just kept speaking in that ancient language, with that far off look in your eye."

"Just like before?"

"Just like before."

Ajay stood up and looked at the torn thangka. "What is it that's making me do that?"

"I couldn't say. There's nothing exuding from the thangka. Not even dust. It's actually been well preserved despite some of the color fading."

"You don't think it's . . . um . . ." Ajay seemed hesitant to finish.

"Magic?" Yuma finished.

Ajay didn't respond. He felt foolish just trying to suggest such a ludicrous thing.

"I don't know."

Ajay looked to the Chinese woman. Was she actually CONSIDERING the possibility of magic?!

"Don't give me that look." She said annoyed. "I'm not saying it IS magic, but I am saying that it's something we can't explain right now. I'm saying it's something . . . otherworldly."

Okay, THAT, he could accept . . . somewhat.

Yuma turned back to him. "Tell me what you saw this time?"

"Well, I was Kalinag again. This time after travelling across an ocean, I found a magical bow and used it to slay the rakshasa. I traveled through a maze of magical doors that led me to different far away places. I rang the bell and got rid of all the rakshasa."

"So basically the same, but somewhat different scenario?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Seems you're reliving Kalinag's war for Shangri-La."

"What for? Isn't this an already famous story?" Ajay asked. "Why make something . . . like this, when the story's all you need.?"

"Perhaps because word of mouth isn't enough. Perhaps Kalinag and the guru who painted the thangka wanted to make sure something like this was never forgotten."

"Well I certainly won't." Ajay muttered.

It's hard forgetting fighting demons alongside a mystical tiger, but that wasn't it. While reliving Kalinag's memory, he felt, heard, smelled, and tasted everything. As if he was actually there. As if he WAS Kalinag and NOT Ajay. In fact, the longer he was in that . . . "world" . . . "memory," whatever, he sometimes forgot he was Ajay and believed he was Kalinag. It was weird and disconcerting.

He saw Yuma reach out to touch the Thangka. On instinct he grabbed her wrist and took her away from it.

"Ajay?"

"Just . . . not a good idea."

She scowled at him and then looked down at their bodies being close. She yanked her arm out of Ajay's grasp and approached the thangka again, but this time she didn't try to touch it.

"Do you know where the next thangka is?"

"Yeah, I think."

"You think?"

"It's an old map, but hey, I found the second piece. I can find the third. But it'll have to wait."

"Why?" She turned to him.

"I got word that the Renegades took over a KEO Mine in the mountains and are searching for something called the Blood Ruby."

"The Ruby of Prabodhana." Yuma said surprised.

"Yeah. That was the other thing it was called. Plus the eye of enlightenment. You know about it?"

"I know all legends of Kyrat." Yuma boasted.

"It is a gem that has started wars." Yuma said darkly. "Much blood was spilled just to possess such a large ruby. The story goes that a thief had escaped the clutches of the king's royal guard and fled into the mountains. He entered a cave to hide from a storm, and discovered it was covered in rubies from floor to ceiling and celebrated his new-found riches. But then he found the biggest of them all and greed consumed him. But when he saw his reflection inside the massive ruby he saw his face and realized he had become something despicable. He panicked and began seeing his disgusting face on all the rubies."

"So he stayed in that cave, hiding in the darkest corners, ashamed and alone. Then one day he decided to go back to the large ruby and look at his reflection again. He drew away in disgust, but kept coming back again and again. He reflected on his reflection. His sense of self and purpose. Until one day he could look at himself and not be ashamed. He was no longer a greedy man or a petty thief, but an enlightened guru who saw the world in a different light."

"With his soul cleansed and enlightened by the rubies, he wanted to share his knowledge with those that needed it. Many people, consumed by greed, lust, corruption, turned away from their sins and became better people after seeing themselves in the reflection of the Eye of Enlightenment."

"Unfortunately, many, including the King of Kyrat, sought the ruby. But the people, thankful for the Guru and the ruby's wisdom wanted to protect it from the greed of those who did not want to change. The King and Kingdom began to fight amongst itself over the ruby and it's "power." A civil war started, you could say. So the thief-turned-Guru, took the gem deeper into the cave where he managed to collapse the entire natural creation and thus hiding the ruby from the world."

Ajay was quite impressed with that story. "Wow."

"Of course, the King never gave up his search for the ruby and neither did the people. Years would pass and more blood would be spilt in the name of the Ruby of Prabodhana. And it would be even more bloody years, before the king died and the people died, before they finally gave up the search.

"So that's why it's called the blood ruby."

"Yep. Many people have risked their lives and the lives of others for it. Even the British, who set up a colony here, tried searching for it, but were even more unsuccessful then the others before them."

"Well, apparently it's found now. And the dacoity is fighting amongst itself about what to do with it."

Yuma chuckled. "It's funny that blood ruby. It brings such enlightenment to those that need it, but destroys people who are too greedy to change." Yuma made her way to leave. "You best get to that mine, Ajay. Something like that doesn't deserve to be to be in the hands of those backstabbers."

"No need to tell me twice." Ajay made his way to leave, but was stopped when Yuma called out again.

"Ajay, wait." Ajay turned and saw Yuma approach him. "You should be rewarded for finding these thangka pieces, instead of just having the satisfaction of finding them. So here."

In Yuma's hands was a sheathed in a scabbard. He took it, thinking it was just some plain kukri like he's seen in all the hands of every kyrati, but he was pleasantly surprised to discover he was wrong.

The kukri was old, but instead of metal the blade was made of shiny green jade. The handle was made of smooth ivory with an elephant's head as the pommel. It was beautiful craftsmanship.

"It's amazing. Where did you get it?"

Yuma smirked. She was glad he liked it. "Grabbed it from the haul we got from the Chal Jama Monastery after we cracked it open like an egg. All that treasure's going to use. And this kukri will serve you better than some auction."

Ajay admired the jade blade even longer before sheathing it and strapping it to his waist. "Thank you, Yuma."

Yuma smiled even wider. "Don't mention it. Now, go kill'em tiger."

 **KEO MINE #4**

It was night. A flurry was slowly falling from the sky. It was beautiful, Ajay thought.

"It's nights like these that I love the most." Ajay whispered. He looked up at the full moon shining through the clouds and he felt his blood pump and his adrenaline rushing. Yet he was as calm as the snow falling around him.

Sometimes Ajay spent entire nights wandering the woods of Kyrat. The sound of the insects and the wild animals kept him wide awake. Plus, when he attacked the Golden Path many never expected him to come so late at night. By the time the tired rebels realized he was attacking he'd have already killed off the majority of them.

He had done this so many times, the rebels became paranoid about him attacking them at night. Like he was a demon coming to reap their souls.

"Grhk!"

Like he was doing now.

A renegade fell to the ground. Red blood from his throat stained the white snow. Ajay took the deadman's knife and chucked it at his nearby friend. It found it's mark in the guy's neck.

"Seems these guys are thinking about taking the ruby and splitting."

Ajay overheard some of the guards talking about taking the ruby for themselves and leaving the country with it.

"No honor among thieves."

In the distance he could hear shouting coming from the bandits, but he couldn't quite make it out. Ajay looked at the road and then he looked at the cliff face. "I'm sure these guys expect and enemy to come from the road." Ajay pulled out his grappling hook. "But they won't expect someone to climb passed them."

Ajay scaled the rock and ice wall, then he stopped just before he reached the edge. He pulled out his kukri and waited. Then Ajay thrusted up and buried his new blade into a renegade's gut before using his curved blade to pull the guy forward and down to his death.

Ajay pulled himself up and began to move through the area. He cut down every unsuspecting rebel he could find before he came across a group of kyratis sitting by a fire. They were not bandits or rebels, but civilians.

Ajay shoved his kurki into the guards back and let him drop.

"Please don't hurt us one of the civilians said frightfully.

"Who are you people?" Ajay asked coming into the light of the fire.

"Ajay Ghale?" Many began to relax and sigh in relief.

"We're just simple folk, sir." A middle-aged man answered. "Farmers, hunters, and the like. The dacoity captured us for labor. Mining the remains of this mine in search of precious gems and the Blood Ruby."

"And you found it?"

"Yes. Though now the camp seems more on edge then usual. The bandits are fighting amongst each other. They're pondering on what to do with the ruby. Some I even suspect are about to start a coup."

Ajay nodded his head in thanks for the information and cut their bindings one by one.

"Thank you for freeing us, Lord Ghale."

"I'm not a lord. Will you guys be alright on your own?"

"Yes." The old man said "We will be fine. Thank you again for freeing us."

Ajay watched them leave before continuing on. He climbed another mountain face before finally reaching the top. A gun shot went off. Then several. Soon the whole place began to echo with gunfire.

Ajay found a good vantage point where he used his camera to scan all the enemies in the area. It was a mess. Seems the bandits decided now was a good time as any to betray each other.

"This works for me." Ajay muttered as he pulled out his sniper rifle, an M-700.

He let the bandits fight amongst each other a little bit longer, thinning out the herd as it were, before firing himself. His weapon had a suppressor on it, so he didn't have to worry about people finding his spot.

A headshot. A body shot. Crippled the leg. Shot off the arm. The bandits were so concerned with each other they hadn't realized someone was picking them off as they were killing each other. Soon there was no one left and the compound became as dead and quiet as all the bodies.

Ajay left his spot and walked over to the main building, but not before looting the bodies or finishing off anyone unlucky enough to survive.

Inside the main building, sitting on a table was a singular metal container. Ajay tried opening it, but it was sturdier then the others he was used to open.

"Heavy duty." He noted and then pulled out his blowtorch and proceeded to work.

He heard the sounds of vehicles coming from the distance and he cursed. He wasn't even halfway done and the bandits still wanted to make a big fuss.

*KABOOM*

Thankfully, Ajay placed a number of mines on the road before heading here.

*KABOOM*

*KABOOM*

No doubt the idiots left their vehicles to not blow up all at once.

*KABOOM*

Unfortunately for them nothing would save them. Ajay pulled out his grenade launcher and began to launch volleys of grenades at the bandits. Explosion upon explosion. The remaining dacoity were blown to literal pieces and Ajay was allowed to get back to work.

Ajay activated the blowtorch and little by little the lock began to melt away. Just a bit more aaand . . . click!

He opened the container and his eyes went wide. He picked up the gem and felt it's weight try to bring down his hand. The ruby was huge! No one was exaggerating! It had to be about the size of a softball. No! An ostrich egg, maybe bigger.

And like the stories said, he could see his reflection in the giant gem. He looked at his face and saw . . . something. Himself? Maybe something almost different. He looked different, but still the same. How was that possible? He saw his reflection not too long ago and he couldn't have looked any different from when he first arrived in Kyrat.

Ajay looked down at his person. Okay, maybe a few guns and bullet holes on his person, but still he shouldn't think he looked different. But how could he be the same and be different at the same time? Peering into the ruby even more he saw something at the corner of his eye. A shadow.

On reflex, Ajay spun and used the Blood Ruby to block a kukri. Without hesitation, he buried his own blade into the attacker's chest. With a squelch, he removed his kukri and the man dropped to the floor dead.

Ajay flicked the blood off his Jade Blade, admiring his new weapon that helped him out greatly. Then looked at the ruby and saw there wasn't even a knick, just a little smear of blood on it.

He wiped off the blood on the man's coat before leaving the area. He passed by all the dead bodies and smoking totaled cars. He passed by them like they were nothing. Same way he'd pass by a mound of snow. It wasn't anything new and it wasn't anything different. He just left it for nature to handle.

He heard more dacoity come up the road. Sighing, Ajay put the ruby away and pulled out Fierce and Jade Blade.

"Same day, same enemies . . ." He smirked evilly, "different fights."


	14. Skyfall

Chapter 14

 _Do not blame god for creating the tiger, but thank him for not having given it wings. – Indian Proverb_

 **Skyfall**

* * *

 **Southern Kyrat**

Ajay fired his Sixer into the brain of a begging rebel. It was tedious work taking back what was theirs, but it was all worth it. Ajay looked over at the small hills of burning bodies around the camp.

The Chosen were a vicious lot. If they weren't burning your shit, they were burning people, if they weren't burning people, then they were burning land, and if they weren't burning the land then they'd start the cycle over again.

Ajay didn't understand any of it. It was just senseless destruction for senseless destruction's sake. How the Golden Path could just let Noore and her people do this to their own country was beyond his comprehension.

When the vehicles rolled in to deal with all the bodies, both old and new, he started going through anything important that belonged to the Chosen. Ajay found several correspondence with a map detailing certain locations.

It seems these location were important to the Chosen and their dark mistress of the moon. He looked at the map and saw that a place called "Yakshini's Flesh" was close by.

Hopping into a vehicle he drove off and came upon a cave. Before Ajay walked in he stepped in a puddle, but when he looked down it wasn't water, but blood. He looked around and saw a couple of chosen lying on the ground in a bloody heap.

Ajay inspected the corpses and saw that they were shredded or torn apart. By something that had big teeth and claws.

Going further inside there were more bodies in the same condition. Further into the cave Ajay found cages. Empty cages. On closer inspection there was something inside the cages, but something let them out. Something with a lot of strength and massive claws.

Ajay looked around the cave further and found crates full of food and alcohol, weapons and ammo, gold and treasures. Offerings, he guessed.

After grabbing a bundle of rupees, Ajay called in the army to collect everything in the cave. He made his way to the next spot: another cave. Though this one was different.

It's corridor was longer and hanging from the ceiling was a velvet cloth leading into it. Ajay was surprised to find that the entire cave was a dungeon. There were deep cells running the length of the cave walls, thankfully there were no people inside. No, the only people around were the ones outside the cells and . . . dead. Like the other cadavers from the last cave they were mauled to death by some beast or beasts considering the number of different flesh wounds on them.

The cave seemed to spiral leading into a deep center were other corpses laid. But these corpses were long dead. Already have decomposed down to the bone. After exploring a bit more all he found was a bit of loot. There were other things like gimp outfits and other leather wear, restraints of all uncomfortable kinds, torture devices, and . . . "toys." Now that Ajay looked at some of the blood-covered, mangled bodies, which ranged from men to women, most of them had been wearing very provocative and tight outfits with markings reminiscent of BDSM practitioners.

The dungeon theme was creepy enough as it was, but now he felt he had to scrub himself clean when the day was over.

"So that's why this place is called 'Yakshini's Bondage.'"

Leaving that place behind, Ajay headed to the third location. It was another cave, but this one was bigger and wider.

Suddenly he heard a scream come from the cave and he dashed in without hesitation. He entered the main room of the cave, which was circular. The place had some kind of old temple inside it, but it was furnished with cloths of red, soft carpets, throw pillows, and beds. A large brazier stood in the center of the room. It would be pretty if it weren't for the piles of corpses.

Everyone was dead, with claw and teeth marks rending their naked bodies.

Ajay heard a roar and a screaming whimper.

Tigers.

Growling tigers came from all directions. He saw who screamed, some poor naked woman, clutching her neck and shoulder.

Ajay unleashed Fierce and blew a pouncing tiger away. Another cat tried to flank him, but Ajay was too quick and blasted it's soft underbelly. He pulled out his assault rifle and shot any tiger in his sight. He brought his jade kukri and slashed at any that tried to get too close.

The large cats were clever and persistent though. They tried to corner him, push him into a tight spot, but he wouldn't let them. He ran slipping through their perimeter and tossing a Molotov. The pussy cats whined in pain as the fires took them and Ajay put them out of their misery by spraying them with bullets.

When all the beasts were dead Ajay went to check on the injured woman. She was completely naked and reminded Ajay of Noore's female guards from the arena. He knelt down and saw her wounds. They were fatale. She only had seconds left.

"What happened here?" Ajay got to the point.

The woman sobbed as she spoke. "W-w-we were entertaining g-guests. J-just a-a-a-another d-day. E-everything normal." She whimpered. "Then those t-t-tigers attacked. Out of nowhere. Killed e-everyone."

The last of her life drained from her eyes. Ajay frowned sorrowfully and shut her eyes.

There was nothing left in the cave, so Ajay exited to see if he could find other clues. He did in the form of bloody tracks. He followed them quite a ways before finding out it led him toward two tigers. The two ferocious felines seemed to be circling some hole in the ground. No doubt the person that left the trail.

Ajay pulled out his bow, aimed it, and found his mark in the tiger's head. The second tiger now fully alert, charged at Ajay, but it charged right into his second arrow.

Ajay looked down in the hole. It was dark, but he could tell there was water at the bottom. After hooking his grappling hook he shimmied down into the water.

There was some kind of shrine at the bottom. A shrine, lo and behold, dedicated to Yakshini, but also, interestingly enough, Yalung. The Great Demon's statue was erected on one side of the room and a beautiful buxom woman statue erected on the other.

Damn. That was Yakshini? He could see why people dedicated themselves to her. She was gorgeous! Maybe that's why a man was dying right under her statue.

Ajay walked up to the bleeding Golden Path member. As soon as he saw Ajay he pulled out his gun and was about to fire, but Ajay was faster and shot an arrow at him. It pinned his good arm to the statue.

Ajay approached the man as he cried out in pain.

"Please, just end it already." The man begged.

Ajay had an arrow at the ready, but he didn't aim it.

"Not so fast. I want to know what's been happening around here." Ajay said.

"I'm not telling you anything!"

Ajay looked at the man's injuries. They were treatable, but they had to be tended to soon if the man wanted to live. Ajay grabbed the arrow and yanked it out of the man's arm, making him scream in pain.

"That wound looks bad. I'm nothing if not merciful. You tell me what I want to know and I'll give you one of my med-kits. You can live to see tomorrow."

The rebel frowned. He seemed disgusted to even consider telling him anything, but his wound constantly reminded him that he needed first-aid.

. . .

. . .

"Fuck. What do you want to know?"

Ajay smirked. "What's with all the tigers? I've never seen this many in one place before, let alone so blood thirsty."

"Have you heard about the Sky Tiger?"

"The man-eating tiger? Yeah, I've heard of it."

"Well, what I bet you didn't know is that the Sky Tiger is the offspring of the famous Bhaji the Miracle Tiger."

"The who?"

"Bhaji." He stated like it was obvious. "He was a tiger that was famous in the arena. A real killer that beast. He won a hundred rounds in the arena and Noore rewarded him by releasing him into the wild after giving him a cloak of flowers and a crown."

"interesting."

"Well, Bhaji would go onto mate and have kits of his own. One of those kits would turn out snow white."

"The Sky Tiger."

"Right. Well ever since Noore went independent she's been wanting more dangerous animals for her arena and army and the Sky Tiger was too irresistible to her. The offspring of Bhaji the miracle tiger? How could she refuse?"

"Don't tell me you idiots actually went hunting for that creature with the intent on capturing it? Alive." Ajay said feeling a headache coming on.

"No, man. We did something stupider. Turns out, the Sky Tiger's got a streak with it. There were tigers all over the place and that damn man-eater was sitting on top of the highest rock like it was a fucking king. We attacked and the beasts retaliated."

"During all the commotion, one of the guys found something easier to take and we ran."

"Something easier?"

"Turns out the Sky Tiger's a she."

It took Ajay a moment before he finally realized what the man was implying. "No. You didn't."

The man nodded almost ashamedly. "We did."

"You took a tiger's baby?!"

"Yeah."

Ajay almost didn't have the words to say how stupid that was. "I feel like this is going to be some cautionary tale that old people will tell kids in the future."

The man chuckled humorlessly. "Wouldn't surprise me. Anyway. After we captured the little kit it wasn't a day before we got swarmed by tigers. We all broke off trying to get away from the beasts, but it was like every damn tiger in the valley was after us. There was nowhere we could run where those tigers couldn't follow."

"Where is that tiger cub now?"

"I can't tell you that."

Ajay reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of scotch. "I got a bottle of scotch right here that can help those wounds. Vintage. It's all yours if you tell me where that cub is."

The rebel stared at that bottle like it was gold. "Is that the fifty-year-old bottle that only the king drinks?"

"That's right."

The man didn't even hesitate. "Give me that bottle first and you got a deal."

Ajay obliged and as soon as the man had it in his hands he took a huge gulp before pouring it on his wounds. He hissed in pain before taking another drink.

"We took it to the newly refurbished Rochan Brick Factory.

"Newly refurbished?"

"Noore's had it turned into a fortress."

"What are its defenses?"

"High walls, several mortars, machine guns, and lots and lots of guards."

"Weaknesses?"

"None that I can tell you."

Ajay pulled back on an arrow.

"No seriously, I don't know! It's not like I've checked it out. If there was any weakness I guess maybe the walls are still new, so susceptible to concentrated blasts or blunt force?"

Ajay took that. "Okay." He reached into his pack and through a med-kit at the rebel's feet. "Here. And let the Golden Path know that even I can show mercy when it counts."

And with that Ajay left the soldier and headed to the Rochan Brick Factory.

 **Rochan Brick Factory**

Ajay scoped the place out and the rebel was right. The place was heavily fortified, the rebels and chosen have been busy. They erected ten-foot walls out of the leftover bricks from the last time he was there. There were guns and mortars and snipers scanning the area for enemies.

Ajay took out a syringe and injected its contents onto his arm. Suddenly his senses heightened, he could smell, hear and see things most normal humans senses wouldn't be able to. It was a rush. Suddenly he could see every armed guard in the complex and could even make out the hunters among them. There were also elephants penned somewhere close by inside. He could also smell all the drugs and chemicals coming from the main building.

Ajay could even sense all the tigers roaming around the place. They were prowling around the area, looking for ways to get inside. It was scary how smart they were being, avoiding the sentries and making sure not to trip any traps. They KNEW that what they were looking for was somewhere in the fortifications.

Ajay took out his radio and contacted Fang Squad.

"Sivudu, are you there?"

"We are always here for you, Ajay. How can we be of service?"

"You know where the Rochan Brick Factory is right? Well the Golden Path and Noore's Chosen have turned the place into a fortress and I need to get inside."

"If it's as armed and defended as you say, surely you don't expect us to just charge in?"

"No, but I do have an idea."

. . .

Ajay's Fangs came up the road loud and proud. They didn't hide the fact they were about to attack, so the rebels quickly prepared. Getting on their guns and ready to load the mortars.

But before they could do that, there was a sudden loud boom and the ground beneath their feet collapsed. Their walls crumbled. Then another wall, then another, and another until four holes were made in their wall.

The Fangs cheered and hooted as they drove right through the breach and fired their guns at every living thing. The new fortress was now on high alert and the chosen sent out a distress signal.

A helicopter began to take flight and add an advantage to the rebels, but they were quickly shot down by Ajay carrying a rocket launcher. He smirked as he saw the bird go up in flames. He looked through his camera and saw rebels on the roof trying to flank his men. They went just as fast as the copter when Ajay shot them with a rocket.

Moving his sights to the other holes he made with those C4 blocks, he saw tigers pour in through them and join in on the chaos. They mauled and gutted any man unfortunate enough to be in their path. They even attacked the rebels riding elephants. It was amazing to see three tigers bring down an elephant along with their rider.

Ajay left his position and headed down to join the fray.

"Sivudu, don't leave your vehicles. Just keep moving and being a distraction, otherwise you'll join the rebels in being snacks for the tigers."

"What's with all the fucking tigers?!"

"I'll explain later. Just keep attacking and did you bring the explosives?"

"Yeah, I got men working on setting them up now."

"Good." Ajay shot an arrow into a man's head. His target was the main door to the whole building. He shot another arrow into a man's back. Then two into a rebel's sternum. A tiger ran right at him, but a single arrow to the head stopped it.

Halfway to the door. A car full of rebels tried to ram him, but Ajay lit an arrow and shot it through the windshield and hit the driver. All the passengers caught flame and the car veered crashing into a wall, where they got crushed by a ton of bricks. A helicopter arrived and it wasn't a friendly. Ajay took out one of his special explosive arrows and brought it down with ease.

He finally made it to the door and entered the building. It was quiet. He could barely hear all the commotion outside. He slowly walked through, bow and arrow at the ready.

A noise drew his attention and with fast reflexes he shot an arrow into a sneaking rebel. Ajay collected the arrow and continued on. He placed explosives in key locations that would make it easier to bring down the place. More rebels would drop to his arrows before they realized he was there. He walked up to a pair of doors and heard people arguing.

"I just need a little more time! The nerve gas is nearly complete. Noore and Amita would want this finished as soon as possible. I can't let them down!"

"Have you seen outside, Chemist? Tigers and Royal Army are tearing this place apart! I don't care how close to done you are, Lady Noore and Amita will understand. You're too important to them to risk your life for some gas that will only give us a slight edge. Plus, you know we have other cargo to deliver to Lady Noore."

Replacing his bow with his Fierce, Ajay burst through the door and blasted the first person he saw. Which was a skinny, gaunt man, wearing rags and black, circular glasses.

"Nooo!" A pyro shouted in great dismay.

The rebels inside started shooting at him. Ajay ducked behind a table before he was riddled with holes.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" The Pyro yelled. "That chemist was doing important work for Mistress Noore and you shot him!"

"Thanks for the recap." Ajay responded. "Here have a grenade."

He rolled a grenade on the floor making the rebels scramble. A few got caught in the blast.

The pyro ran, ordering his men to kill Ajay.

Ajay poked out of cover and shot two rebels with Fierce. Their bodies flew across the room from the impact. He quickly reloaded his gun and fired again, getting a rebel in the head, making him do a flip before hitting the ground. Ajay fired again, but missed.

He got back into cover before he was riddled with holes. Crouching Ajay took one of the grenades on the table and tossed as he rolled to another spot. The grenade went off and it turned out to be a smoke grenade. But for some reason the gas was yellow and orange. He heard some of the rebels whimper. Then he heard them scream. Gunfire went off, but they were far from hitting Ajay.

Ajay heard bodies drop one by one. Soon the shooting stopped, and the gas disappeared. Ajay looked at the grenades on the table and examined them.

"What the hell kind of grenades are these?"

Regardless, Ajay grabbed any and all available grenades. He didn't want these in the Golden Path's hands. They were effective and lethal. He went through the door the pyro went into and entered another lab.

Once again, he was greeted by rebels. Ajay tossed one of his new grenades and let the rebels deal with each other. He blasted a few rounds from his rifle to thin them out faster.

Finally he caught up with the pyro, but this time he was waiting for him.

"In the name of my mistress and priestess Noore. In the name of Yakshini, the dark witch of the moon. I shall purify your sins against us by purifying your existence from this world." The pyro declared.

He unleashed fire from his flamethrower.

Ajay quickly jumped back through the doors. He hated pyros. They were so difficult to deal with because they had reach with their flamethrowers and the fire just got everywhere. He tried shooting the pyro, but the fires, kept getting in his way, obstructing his vision.

Suddenly rebels began coming through the side doors and opening fire.

"Nobody's allowed to kill him!" The pyro yelled. "You were proclaimed champion in the arena by the king himself Ghale. What a farce! I'm the one and only Champion of Shannath. I've been Noore's champion for years and if you think I'll let you walk out of here with that title, you're dead wrong!"

Ajay was pushed back again. The flames started licking at him that he had to pat himself up just to put the flames out. In these closed spaces, it was not turning out good. He was about to use his special new smoke grenade when he heard the sound of growling.

Then a man started screaming as he was dragged across the floor by something big.

"What was that?!" A rebel shouted.

There was a roar, then a cracking sound. A man got his head caved in. Another roar, a man's throat was torn open. People began to freak out and shoot at the mere sight of the attacker. Soon their numbers dwindled down to just Ajay and the pyro.

"Where are ya, you bastard!" The pyro shouted. He shot his flamethrower madly, causing the fire to spread even more.

"Looks like you met your match, fucker." Ajay said.

Suddenly, the pyro screamed and something tackled him to the ground. The creature roared and bit down on the man. His screams became muffled by squelching and tearing of bloody flesh. Ajay finally came out of his cover and found the champion dead. He saw the beast over the deadman's body and only had one response.

"That is a big fucking tiger."

The Sky Toger had to be the most beautiful and majestic creature he had ever seen. It's white and black fur, though splattered with blood was shiny and stunning. Its eyes were crystal blue and glowed in the dimmed lighting. It was also bigger than the average tiger and in it's massive jaws was the head of the former Champion of Shannath.

The tiger crushed the head in it's mouth and making its way toward Ajay.

"Oh shit." Ajay pulled out his assault rifle and fired. The tiger veered left and hid from Ajay.

Ajay began to check every side of him. He turned right, left, back and around. For such a big beast it sure was stealthy.

Ajay saw it and fired. He could have sworn he hit it, but like all of the unnatural beasts he's fought in this damned country, it just shrugged off the bullets.

The Sky Tiger jumped onto a table and pounced at Ajay. He rolled out of the way, but it still managed to scratch his shoulder. Ajay winced and hissed, but ignored it to shoot his gun. He got the animal, but it still kept coming.

Ajay slowly backed away. He turned around quickly thinking he heard something. It was hard to tell with the fires around him roaring. He turned around again, but from the side the tiger leapt through the flames and brought Ajay down.

The Sky Tiger had his gun in its jaws and the two struggled. Ajay grunted when the beast swiped its paws at him, cutting his face. Ajay pulled out his Jade Blade and swiped it across the tiger's face making it back off.

Ajay got back up and tried shooting his gun, but it was empty. No, the tiger dented the weapon with it's mouth. The tiger tried to bring him down again, but thinking fast, Ajay grabbed the barrel of the gun and swung.

There was a loud crack when the gun collided with the skull of the Sky Tiger. His weapon was ruined, but the tiger was disoriented.

Ajay ran into another room and hid behind some crates. He was breathing heavily and felt exhausted. Pulling out a syringe, he injected himself with painkillers and suddenly he was ready for round two.

He heard the door open and the quiet foot falls of the Sky Tiger. Ajay pulled out Fierce and readied the gun. Silence. Ajay waited for the beast to come around the corner, but it never came. Then he felt the hairs rising on his arm.

Looking up and there was the Sky Tiger on top of the crates, snarling at him. Ajay jumped away and rolled before the tiger could pounce on him with its great weight. Fierce fell out of his hands and the quickest weapon Ajay could grasp, was his kukri.

The Sky Tiger swiped at Ajay and Ajay swiped at the Sky Tiger. They gave each other six feet of space and circled one another, waiting for the other to make a move.

They both slashed and left marks on the other. Some deep and others shallow, but both wouldn't back down.

Then they heard a mew. And suddenly they both perked up. There was another mew and then they looked at the source of the noise.

In a big grey box with only a small window with bars, was a baby white tiger, calling out for its mother.

In that moment, the Sky Tiger became more desperate and therefore more daring. It took a leap of faith and jumped at Ajay.

Ajay, momentarily stunned from seeing the baby tiger, was too late to stop the beast from pushing him down. But as the large body of the tiger pounced on him, on automatic instinct, Ajay brought the kukri up and stabbed the tiger in the gut as it landed on him.

He screamed in pain as the tiger bit down harder and harder on his arm, twisting back and forth but he just kept stabbing the animal in the gut. Even managing to drag the knife across the feline's body.

The Sky Tiger couldn't take the pain and reeled back and this gave Ajay the opening he needed. He got the Jade Blade close to his face and thrusted upward.

Blood splattered on his face as the Sky Tiger's neck bled out from the new gap. Ajay could hear the beast choke and gag, almost similarly like a cat hocking up a hairball. After half a minute, which felt like an hour in the moment, of bleeding and having a blade in the throat, the Sky Tiger finally died.

Ajay took a silent moment to catch his breath before attempting to push the Sky Tiger's carcass off his body. It was difficult, since the tiger weighed more then normal tigers, but he did it.

Standing up, Ajay looked at his work. Then the noise of loud mewing got his attention. He saw the baby sky tiger pawing and mewing at its dead mother from behind its bars. Ajay suddenly felt a pain of guilt in his soul.

"Ajay, come in Ajay."

"Yeah, Sivudu?" Ajay sighed.

"You alright, sir?"

"Peachy." He said annoyed and tired. "Did you finish what I asked?"

"Yes, sir. Got the bombs all prept and everything we can blow this place whenever you want. Preferably before the reinforcements arrive, sir."

"Good, come pick me up at the main entrance." Ajay looked at the dead Sky Tiger and then at it's crying child. "Actually, can you send to men to me first. I need help getting something."

"What?"

. . .

"Move! Move! Move!"

Ajay ran out of the building with the Sky Tiger kit under his arms. Behind him were two of his Fangs carrying the corpse of the Sky Tiger. They loaded the body into the truck, which Sivudu was driving and Ajay ordered his Commander to drive.

"Is that the Sky Tiger?!" Many of his men, including Sivudu, shouted with awestrucked voices.

"Yes, now drive!" Ajay shouted impatiently.

"Hang on!"

Sivudu stepped on it and all the Fangs left the Rochan Brick Factory.

Ahead of them were Golden Path reinforcements, but some blasts from their Highpowered .50 Cals and a few rounds from Ajay's rocket, they made a clear getaway path.

"Are we clear?" Ajay asked.

"Yes!" Sivudu answered.

Ajay pulled out a detonator and pressed the button.

They all heard the explosions. Every soldier who could watched the smoke stacks of the factory topple and fall to the ground. Then the rest of the building began to explode and soon the whole place came down in a beautiful display of destruction.

Ajay and his Fangs cried out in victory as they drove away from the Golden Path's great defeat. Now the only fortress left in the south was Bhagadur.

 **Royal Palace**

Ajay returned to his room and slumped in his couch. He let out a long sigh as he just tried to relax from the whole ordeal. He looked over at the Blood Ruby sitting on a stand, seeing his reflection in the gem, but ignored it when he heard a mewl.

The baby sky tiger was on the ground pawing at the remains of the Sky Tiger, which was just it's fur turned into a rug. It was a actually a very depressing thing to see.

Guilt began to wrack Ajay, but the mother tiger didn't give him much of a choice and in the law of the jungle only the strong survive. Still, he felt bad for the poor kit.

The baby sky tiger got on the rug of its mother and pawed the back, before curling up and tried to sleep on it.

Ajay wondered if he should have left the little creature, but a part of himself chastised for even thinking that. The baby tiger had no one any more. Its mother was dead by his hand and he felt responsible for the creature. It was alone in this world. Just like he was alone when his mom died.

Though the only difference was that he had no one to blame for his mother's death but himself.

He got up off the couch and approached the new orphan. The baby sky tiger suddenly got up and hissed at him. Ajay wasn't perturbed. The only thing that he was afraid of that was the baby's size were honey badgers. And the baby tiger was no honey badger.

His hand stuck out to pet the cat, but the kit bit him. Ajay didn't flinch and just let the baby sky tiger bight down. After a while the kit stopped and just stared at him.

"I'm sorry." Ajay said.

The baby sky tiger, after a long moment of eye-locking staring, started to rub it's head against his hand and Ajay was happy to comfort the orphaned tiger baby.

"I'll take care of you from now on." Ajay said. "You don't have to be alone."

The baby tiger mewed. Suddenly, Ajay had a thought.

"You're going to need a name."

The cat just looked up at him with big blue eyes. For a baby tiger, that would grow up to be a massive predator, it sure looked innocent. And that's when Ajay came up with a name.

"How do you like the name . . . Lakshmana?"

* * *

 **So I wanna ask, who here is excited for the next Far Cry Game? I know I am! If you leave a review tell me your thoughts on the next game. Personally, I look forward to it. I know there's a lot of controversies with it, but fuck that noise. I don't care if I'm killing white Christians on American soil or whatever. Doesn't matter to me what race, color, or religion they are. If they're attacking my character, I'm shooting the bastards. Besides, we get to fly planes, go fishing, and hunt wolverines! Wolverines! There's a reason they named a superhero after those things!**


	15. Megalomania

**Just a couple more weeks people and Far Cry 5 is out! I already preordered the Gold Edition and I'm ready. Ready to kill fanatic cultists, hunt dangerous animals, and fight with some of the most interesting people in-game (Hurk, Boomer, and Jess Black)! I've seen the trailers and even the 30-minute movie and I can already tell that The Father is shaping up to be an interesting Villain. He's so different from the other villains of the series, but he fits in so well with them. No one could ever beat Vaas, but Joseph Seed appears to be in a different league of his own. Anyway, enough rambling, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 15

 **Megalomania**

 _Attackers may sometimes regret bad moves, but it is much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by. —Garry Kasparov_

A nye of monals were grazing in the field. Unaware of the predator that was stocking them. Ajay slowly crept toward the colorful birds, crouched down and impressively walking, making minimal sound. When he was at a good enough distance that he couldn't miss, he pulled back on his bow and aimed.

The arrow struck and the remaining monals became startled and flew off. A few flew too close to a nearby tree and from the canopy pounced a young white tiger. It landed on the ground with ease and turned to show its master its kill. The monal in its jaws was motionless. It died quickly. A clean kill.

"Good work, Lakshmana." Ajay praised. He tried taking the bird, but the tiger cub growled. Ajay retracted his hand. "Fine, you can keep it."

Lakshmana seemed pleased and began to eat her kill as Ajay returned to their jeep. Inside the back where bharal, dhole, yak, and now monal.

"Think this'll be enough food for that village?" Lakshmana answered him by licking blood off it's face. "Yeah I think so too."

He hopped into the truck and drove off. They arrived at the village and the people greeted Ajay with excitement and relief. They gave the adolescent tiger a wide birth, however.

They heard the stories of how Ajay slew the champion of the Shanath Arena and the Sky Tiger all in the same day. It awed them that such a man was so brave and daring. Seeing the child of the man-eating tiger by his side just impressed them even more.

The starving village was thankful for his assistance and invited him to join them in a celebratory feast. Ajay politely refused, saying he had more business to attend to. Sad though they were, they understood completely and let the young man leave.

Ajay would have normally stayed and watch the people be happy, but today was too important to pass up. Today, Ajay and Pagan would discuss Taking down Noore.

Returning to the Palace, Ajay found the King of Kyrat sitting on his thrown, looking bored as ever.

"Ajay! So glad you could make it!"

Lakshmana growled at Pagan, causing the Royal Guard to tighten their weapons in uneasiness. Everyone except Pagan and Yuma seemed uneasy having the child of a man-eater around. It amazed them that Ajay had such control over the animal, as even the legendary Hunters could not control the mighty Sky Tiger.

Ajay looked down at Lakshmana and then back to Pagan. He squinted at Pagan and then frowned.

"Who the hell are you?"

Pagan frowned this time. "Why, Ajay, it's me Pagan."

"No, you're not." Ajay pulled out his Jade Blade. Pagan began to sweat nervously. "First, Lakshmana never growls at Pagan. I've trained her not to. Second, you don't FEEL like Pagan. You lack that . . . how do I say it, aura, that I'm used to. It's damn close, almost fooled me if it weren't for Lakshmana here. Now," He pointed his kukri at the King, "Who. The Hell. Are You?"

"Easy, easy, Ajay." From the side came Pagan. The real one.

The two Pagans now stood side by side, completely identical in looks, stature, and stance. It was almost creepy.

The fake Pagan bowed to the real Pagan as the real Pagan smiled mischievously.

"Ajay," The real Pagan said, "I'd like you to meet Eric, he's my double."

"I'll say." He put away his blade and calmed down his tiger before approaching the two.

"I'm sorry for the confusion Ajay I wasn't expecting you back so early. I would have thought you'd stay for the celebration among the peasants."

"Noore's too important right now."

"Yes, yes. After dealing with the Brick Factory I can understand you raring to go and attack it."

Ajay turned to Eric this time. "Sorry about threatening you."

"No apologies needed, Lord Ghale. It just means I have more work to do to make my appearance flawless."

"Come along Ajay, we have business to discuss." Pagan headed back the way he came.

Ajay followed him, but started walking backward to talk to Eric. "It was nice meeting you. Keep up the good work."

When they were out of earshot Pagan began complimenting his double.

"Eric usually deals with most of my work. He's usually always the one sitting on the throne making huge decisions. Decisions that I choose, but still mostly all him."

"He's very impressive. He's even got your cheekbones."

"Yep! He's good looking as me, I even use him for the image on the money! And he's not even Asian! He's from, like, Australia or something. It's actually quite impressive that you figured him out so quick."

"I wouldn't have done it that fast without Lakshmana here." Ajay said, patting the tiger on its head.

Pagan smiled. The name always seemed to brighten the blonde man. "It's only been a few days and already you've done a lot with the little beast."

"What can I say, there's just some kind of connection between us."

"Indeed."

The two entered a board room where they were the only occupants.

"Not involving your cabinet in this one?" Ajay asked.

"Nah, this one is personal. I'll be helping you take down Noore without my cabinet."

Ajay just shrugged. This sounded like something Pagan would do.

The two sat down. Pagan interlocked his fingers and began to speak seriously.

"The CIA is in Kyrat Ajay."

Ajay nearly fell out of his chair.

"The CIA?!"

Pagan looked very unconcerned about this prospect. "Please, Ajay, don't go making a fuss about this. The CIA's been keeping tabs on me since my rise to power here in Kyrat. They're worried or something about me becoming the leader of a country . . . or not me and the country is what they're afraid of? You know I'm not really sure."

"Pagan, you have American secret operatives in your country. That doesn't strike you as a big deal?!" Ajay said incredulously.

Pagan just shrugged. "Not really. I know they've had operatives in my organization for years. Though it's been while since a hotshot agent came to Kyrat. And it's the same guy!"

Pagan threw some vanilla folders onto the table. Inside were documents, mostly blacked out, but had a clear picture of an American white man with brown hair, wearing a suit and shades.

"Willis Huntley's his name and being a CIA douchebag is his game." The tyrant said playfully. "The CIA's been smuggling weapons into the country for years and giving them to the Golden Path. It's been more of an annoyance then a nuisance, so I never really bothered to deal with it."

"Seriously?"

"Well if I had they'd probably send someone new. Someone who would not be so easily dealt with. The CIA is tricky, you got to know how to handle them, Ajay. At least I knew who and what I was dealing with."

Ajay flipped through the papers and found a picture of this Willis shaking hands with . . .

"Is that my father?"

"Yep, the cunt himself, Mohan Ghale. From what I was able to gather they made an arrangement sometime many years ago. I think Willis promised weapons and man power, but Mohan turned the latter down. I guess after trusting the last foreigner he wasn't willing to do so again."

"It's been years since he talked to my father, why is he back now?"

"Don't know. Perhaps his superiors want to see how the fruits of their labor is doing. Maybe they want to know if I'm an actual threat. In the end, doesn't matter, they're here and they're helping the Golden Path."

"What does this have to do with Noore?" Ajay asked after finishing the documents. He'd read them later for thoroughness.

"Since her defection, I've often wondered how my little slave managed to obtain information about her family."

"You think that Willis told her."

"No, I think he had the knowledge and just gave it to the Golden Path."

"Freely?" Ajay asked doubtfully.

"Hell no!" Pagan chuckled. "He's getting something out of Amita and Sabal. And I think I know what it is."

"What."

"The dacoity have been making quite a ruckus. They've attacked many soldiers, including Yuma's elite and taking the survivors prisoner. Probably torturing the poor lads in the City of Pain."

"Okay?"

"Well Ajay, I think the CIA is using the bandits to clean house. I think they're killing the operatives hiding amongst my army."

"Really? Why not send real threats. The Renegades are more annoyances compared to the Elephant Brigade or the Tiger Squad."

"True, but their greedy. And vicious. A bunch of rats! They'll attack anything if it means they'll get a lot of value out of it. Money, guns, drugs, sex, they're as depraved as when they took orders from Paul."

"Speaking of, have you heard any word from Paul?"

"None." Pagan shook his head negatively. "I'm getting kind of worried honestly, I can only imagine what those monkeys will do to him as payback for all the shit he's done to them. His daughter must be worried sick too!"

Ajay knew that Pagan and Paul were close. Word was . . . well, everywhere said that the two were like giggling best friends. Ajay didn't much care for Paul, the methods he heard Paul used was sickening, but the guy had a daughter, a family. One he really cared about. And regardless he was one of them. Paul was part of the Royal Army.

"We'll find him Pagan." Ajay assured.

The man gave him an appreciative look before they got back on topic.

"So, what's the plan, Pagan?"

"Well, here's how I think it should go. I take my Wrath and charge up the front. Then I walk up to the front door and taunt her with—

 **Baghadur**

"Oh Slaaave~! Come out and plaaay~!" Pagan yelled into a megaphone.

He and his Wrath Force were standing outside of Baghadur, armed to the teeth and raring for a fight. To make a point, Pagan took a rocket launcher and blasted a piece of the fortress wall.

"Pagan!" Noore shouted at the top of her lungs in rage. She practically ran to the edge of the wall of her fortress.

"Noore! So good to see you. You look well, being a pyrophiliac madwoman, must be do wonder for the complexion."

"You have a death wish Pagan?" Noore spat. "Coming to my front door, after toppling my factory and killing my champion, I have my strongest of Faithful, ready, and itching to light you and your precious Kyrat on fire."

"Come on Noore, was what I did to you so awful? Sure I had Paul kill your family, but really, what did you expect? A dictator of the humanly worst kind invites you and your family to his land and you weren't suspicious at all?"

"You speak of ages ago Pagan! That woman no longer exists. She died the moment she found out the truth of her husband and children. Now there is only the Priestess of Pain!"

"Ooh, priestess of pain. What a load of horse shit. You're still the same weak woman Noore and you always will be. Like me this country has broken you. Admit it you've come to love the violence. You've come to enjoy watching people fight for their lives, survive, and die. The humanitarian who became the most despicable of human beings!"

"Shut up!" She screeched causing some of the onlookers to flinch. "I am what I am because of you! Because of Paul! But I'll get my revenge, I'll destroy everything in my path to make you pay!"

"Then allow me to respond to that burning invitation," Pagan raised his arm and his men raised grenade launchers, "with a little bit of fire of my own. Company fire!"

Grenades were launched through the air. Noore and her men got down as they braced for the explosions. But none came.

The grenades just bounced off the walls and onto the ground. Then they released an orange smoke.

"What is this?" Noore asked.

Soon the smoke filled up the courtyard and the interior of the temple. Visions were blurred and then there was gunfire.

"My Priestess, protect yourself!"

One of her Faithful, a pyro, took off his mask and gave it to Noore, which she took without hesitation. She saw that her own men were firing on each other. The colored smoke was making them hallucinate and shooting everything around them. The only ones who weren't affected by the gas was her pyro soldiers.

Noore turned to the man that gave her the mask. He was coughing like the rest and seemed to get a panicked look in his eyes.

"Your death will serve my purpose." She shoved a blade through the pyro's throat, killing him.

"My lady, we must take you back to your quarters where you'll be safe." One of her faithful said as he shot several of his own comrades.

"Yes, do so. Get this situation under control and kill Pagan! I want that bastard's head in my hands today!"

. . .

"Wow, Pagan's really going all out." Ajay muttered.

He dawned a gas mask and went through a crevice on the side of the stronghold. He'd need it so he wouldn't be affected by the gas. Thankfully, this special gas did not effect animals and so, Lakshmana was safe to travel through the complex with him.

"Be careful Lakshi, just because you're not effected doesn't mean you'll be out of danger."

They snuck through the crack and slowly they made their way into the fortress. Inside, it was hectic. Men were running around, barking orders, getting weapons ready to fight the enemy at the gates, as well as trying to subdue and kill their own who were suffering from the hallucinogenic gas.

Even though everyone was on high alert, it was the perfect moment for him.

Ajay and Lakshmana went in, crouched and sneaky. Lakshmana lept, biting into a man's neck. Ajay's kukri flashed and cut the throat of an unsuspecting Faithful. Lakshmana then bit the leg of a rebel, brining him down and then leaping on his head to bite him to death. Ajay went for another Faithful and impaled his blade into the man's chest.

That one however, let out an alerting scream letting everyone know of their presence. Ajay grabbed the freshly killed rebel's gun and fired at any remaining men that were stationed on the top floor.

Lakshmana crouched down and got ready for battle.

"Steady Girl." Ajay soothed.

"Check upstairs! Something's wrong!"

Ajay smirked as he pulled out a brick of C4. He just chucked it down to the bottom floor like it was trash and it landed near a crate of ammo. Ajay pressed the detonator and all the drama increased tenfold!

The explosion killed many and the ignited ammo went off. Random bullets and rockets and shrapnel went flying everywhere killing most of the Faithful on the bottom.

When it quieted down and the smoke, both the gun and the colored, died down, Ajay and his tiger lept from the ledge and dropped down on a heavy. Lakshmana roared as she ripped the throat out of one rebel with her teeth.

Ajay wasted no time. While the rebels were disoriented he hacked and slashed with his blade. A slit throat, a punctured chest or back. A dismembering here and there. Many begged in the seconds they had when they saw him or Lakshmana charged right at them. Some cursed him, some prayed to their gods, and some just plain pissed themselves. In their eyes, Ajay was the grim reaper, the demon that had come for their lives and souls.

But not all would go down so easily.

"BURN!"

A heavy pyro stumbled in. Then two. Then three.

"For the gloriousness of Noore and our dark beloved Yakshini!"

"Death to the false king and his tool!"

"Burn! BURN! BUURRRNNN!"

Three streams of fire sprayed toward Ajay like a dragon with three heads.

"Shit! Lakshmana, hide!" The tiger did as was told, Ajay dove for the first available cover.

Though he wasn't close to getting burned he could still feel the heat from the three torrents of fire. When a chance presented itself, Ajay ran from his cover to make more distance. He tossed a grenade as he ran, damaging the three heavies, but not enough to stun or kill them. Ajay ran up the stairs to the second floor. As he did he left a little surprise for them.

When one of the heavies slowly made their way up the stairs, Ajay triggered a block of C4 and blew the pyromaniac up. Ajay then wasted no time and jumped from the second floor and impaled the second heavy with his blade. Unfortunately, his kukri got lodged in the corpse and left him vulnerable to the last pyro.

"Burn!"

Ajay rolled. He pulled out his assault rifle and fired, but the spew of fire made it difficult to aim. Ajay realized he was being pushed back and hit the corner of the wall. He was trapped. The pyro giggled menacingly, raising his flamethrower.

But karma was on his side.

Lakshmana jumped from her hiding spot and bit the heavy in the leg. The man yelled out in pain and kicked the tiger away. Lakshmana hit the wall hard, making Ajay even angrier.

The heavy dropped to one leg, unable to stand the pain. He looked up too late to see Ajay pass him with his gleaming Jade Blade. The heavy's head flew off his shoulders.

Ajay quickly left the fresh corpse to check up on his friend.

"Lakshmana are you okay?" He comforted the tiger.

Lakshmana leaned into his touch and purred. Ajay smiled.

"Glad you are. Here take this and just rest. This'll be over quick." Ajay injected Lakshmana with one of his pain relieving syringes and then left to find Noore.

Walking up a set of stairs, he found Noore's room and roughly kicked it open. There she was sitting poisely on her large bed.

"Hello, Ajay Ghale." She greeted softly.

Ajay pulled out Fierce and pointed it at her. "You're coming with me Noore."

She smiled connivingly. "On the contrary Ajay."

Something hard hit Ajay in the back of the head and he fell face first. He looked up and could barely see the two men with guns standing over him.

"The show's just barley started."

. . .

Ajay worked through the pain in the back of his head as he woke up. He pushed himself off the cold floor he was lying on and tried to rub the bleariness from his eyes. When he could finally open them, he was spooked by a lunging tiger.

"AH!" He fell back and realized the swiping tiger was in a cage.

"AH!" He got spooked again when a bear roared from behind him.

"AH!" And again, when a cage of snow leopards roared at him.

"AHH!" And again, but this time louder when he saw a cage full of honey badgers hissing and screeching at him.

"Goddamn honey badgers." He cursed. He finally realized he was in a cage not unlike his animal neighbors.

"Ah, you're awake. Good. Good!"

Ajay turned around and saw a tiny man with a limp. He wore dirty clothes that looked once refined. He had greasy tanned skin, messy mop of hair, and a dirty pencil moustache. His smile was filled with crocked teeth and one gold tooth.

"Who are you? Where the fuck am I?"

"You're in the place where all dangerous animals go, Ajay." The man sneered. "Welcome back to Shanath Arena!"

Animals started roaring louder and banging on their cages harder. Some guards came by and prodded the more restless beasts with tasers.

After the guy was done grandstanding he introduced himself like some civilized prick. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Appa. The announcer and second command of the Shanath Arena."

Ajay banged on his cage also and growled like his neighbors at the little man with the annoying voice.

"Noore! Where are you?! Stop hiding behind your tools and face me-AGH!"

Ajay fell back when Appa tasered him.

"Now, now, Mr. Ghale. Let's not waste that impressive strength of yours. You're going to need it."

"For what?!" He spat.

Appa answered by giving him a crooked smile, showing off his crooked yellow teeth.

. . .

"People of Kyrat! I have given you champions to cheer for and losers to mock! I have given you blood, sweat, and tears! But today . . . today I give you something special. I bring you a boy, pretending to be a man. A boy . . . who is truly an ANIMAL! He has slaughtered men, women, and children alike all in the name of the false Rakshasa King, Pagan Min."

Appa walked to her side. He gave her a silent nod, one she returned before addressing the crowd again.

"He is your hero, he is your enemy . . . Ajay Ghale!"

The crowd cheered as one of the main doors opened. Out came Ghale in all his naked glory. The crowd cheered seeing their champion again and all too eager to see him fight in the Arena.

Ajay twirled the kukri in his hand casually and sighed. "Déjà vu."

Appa had Noore's bare-chested guards drag him out of his cage and stripped him of his clothes. Were it any other situation, he would have loved that. But then they stuck his naked ass in the waiting room with nothing but a kukri waiting for him inside.

"Why can't I just keep my clothes on in this place?" Ajay mumbled. He made his way to the center of the arena where all could see him.

He turned around to face his captor. It took all his strength not to throw his fucking knife, his only weapon, at the bitch.

"Tonight, I have a special treat for you, Mr. Ghale. Your appearance is for the masses, but the battle today is specifically for you!"

"Bring it on, Noore!"

"Oh I intend too. My fellow subjects, I promised an event for the ages. An event I have only ever held once in my time of running Shanath. An event, only worthy of the strong . . . the powerful . . . the indomitable! Ajay Ghale . . . welcome to the **Eternal Struggle!** "

The crowd cheered even louder than ever before.

"The hell's that?" Ajay questioned uncomfortably.

"As you all know, the Eternal Struggle is only granted to the most skilled of my fighters, to the most tenacious of animals. Only one had ever risen to the top and survived every battle, and you all know him, Bhaji the Miracle Tiger!"

The crowd cheered in honor of the beast that inspired many legends of the arena.

"If Ajay Ghale wishes to survive the night, he must survive all ONE-HUNDRED challenges." Ajay's jaw nearly hit the floor hearing how many rounds he had to go through. "If the Son of Mohan can win each battle and come out alive, he wins his freedom, but if he loses . . . heh heh, he dies."

"Fuck you Noore!" Ajay roared

"You're already the Champion of this arena, Ajay, let's see if you can reach the rank of legend." Noore put her gaze back on the audience. "No more waiting, I sense your blood lust, my people. Place your bets . . . and let the first round . . . BEGIN!"

The horn blew. Ajay didn't even hesitate. As soon as the horn blew he ran right for the first opening door. The fighters waiting inside were momentarily blinded by the light, but they saw nothing when Ajay got to them. The crowd couldn't see but they could hear the blood curdling screams of the gladiators being slaughtered in the waiting room.

Ajay stepped out, armed with an assault rifle and uzi. Grenades and knives hung from a belt that he "confiscated" from a gladiator. Then he was on the move.

Like a reaper prowling hallowed grounds, Ajay slashed and jabbed his blade against unsuspecting foes. The crowd cheered uproariously as Ajay systematically took out each man one by one. The fight was over in minutes.

"Well done, Mr. Ghale." Noore said sarcastically. "But that was only round one. On to round two!"

Ajay gathered whatever ammo he could scrounge from the corpses and quickly found a hiding spot in the shadows. The horn blew, and the doors opened. Fighters ran past him, but he grabbed the last one and stabbed him in the chest. Ajay then took his gun and emptied the clip on all his friends. He tossed the empty gun away and joined the fray.

The crowd cheered seeing Ajay use the zip-line to go from one end of the arena to the other and gun down any fighters he passed by. Clouded leopards were among the released. They shrugged off bullets like they couldn't feel them and pounced on their prey. Ajay gunned down one leopard with his pistol and then decapitated another in mid-lunge.

A heavy-pyro was going crazy. Releasing fire everywhere and laughing at the screams of his agonized victims. He wasn't even being discriminate, he even attacked his own allies. Ajay blasted an explosive barrel, taking out two enemies and wounding the pyro. Sprinting, Ajay bared his blade and went for the weakspot that he learned all heavies had on their person. A nice little sweet spot that he exploited to cause great pain to the huge soldiers.

"How exciting! My panties are in a twist!" Appa announced excitedly. "Place your bets and be ready for the next round!"

The crowd cheered Ajay's name. He raised his arms in the air and soaked in their admiration. He grabbed the pyro's flamethrower and got ready for the third round. The horn blew and the first thing one of the group of contenders saw when their doors opened was Ajay and his flamethrower.

The fighters screamed in agony as Ajay covered them in fire. When he was sure they were roasted he went after the next group and lit two heavies with machine guns on fire.

Unfortunately, lighting people on fire drew too much attention, now the whole arena was after him. Including one angry snow leopard who was tearing through the competition like they were nothing.

"Ooooh! Look at this folks! It's Jammu "the Ripper!" Look at that crazy cat go!"

Ajay fired his assault rifle, killing two fighters. He then jumped off the second floor and imbedded his kukri into a man's neck. He then took his knife and chucked it at a nearby enemy. That's when Jammu pounced at Ajay.

Ajay ducked and rolled out of the way of the cat's claws. The snow leopard was big and muscly from all its fights but was still slim enough to be super-fast. However, it had a crazed look in its eyes and blood matted its paws and mouth.

Jammu roared as it jumped at him. Ajay tried shooting the beast, but it either dodged with its agility or it did get hit, but felt no pain and just kept attacking.

Growling in frustration Ajay fired again. This time he hit a berserker who was coming at him with a knife. He avoided another swipe of the claws, but the Jammu went after a defender attempting to line up a shot.

As Jammu ripped into he defender's throat Ajay tossed a grenade near the beast. It exploded, taking the animal to hell along with all the other fighters of the arena.

"It's not over yet, darling! There's still more to come!"

Ajay gathered all the supplies he could. He grabbed ammo, a PKM, and a couple of health kits. Someone was even kind enough to throw a grenade launcher.

Before the horn blew he was already hiding in the corners. Out of the two main doors came bears. The side doors let loose more fighters. The bears roared and tore apart their fleshy adversaries.

The fighters kept their distance from the large beasts and focused solely on them. Ajay took advantage of that and surgically planted his blade through each enemy, one by one. A bear noticed him and charged at high speeds.

Ajay took a shotgun he stole and blasted away at the bear. It got to him and knocked him down. It roared in his face, but before it could feast on his corpse. He placed the barrel of the shotgun in the animal's mouth and blasted the top part of its head off.

The crowd cheered seeing the blood fly.

"The gora is doing great, don't you think Mistress Noore?" Appa asked.

"Hm, he's doing fine for a start. But now he'll have to face a real challenge."

"Indeed. Time for a special event!"

The horn blew and out of one of the main doors came two rhinos, decorated in colorful paints and accessories.

Ajay cursed seeing the horned pachyderms. Bad memories of Karkadaan floated through his head momentarily.

He tried shooting at a distance first, but all that did was make the beasts angrier and head right for him. Panicking he tossed a Molotov. It hit, but he cursed himself after because now he had two FLAMING rhinos charging at him.

He ran. Without hesitation. That's all he could do when faced against nature's tanks. He ran and shoot. Ran and shoot. Ran and shoot. He leaped from the ledges and escaped the rhinos. He pulled out his grenade launcher fired. He missed the first couple shots, but he got a good hit on them then few.

The crowd booed him. They wanted to see more blood and action. Instead their so-called "champion" was running like a coward.

"Screw you!" Ajay yelled annoyed. "Do you know how hard it is to kill a rhino in enclosed spaces?!"

Ajay grabbed the zipline and soared to the other side of the arena before he was skewered. He threw grenades in the animal's path. Explosions hurt them the most.

"Here!"

Ajay looked down and saw someone had thrown him an MKG. He grabbed it and started blasting away like Arnold Schwarzenegger. One rhino finally went down from all the damage, but the second was still going. Ajay jumped one more time from the ledge. He felt the horn nearly scratch his back that time. He ran backwards and started firing his machinegun. The rhino roared and gave chase. Finally, the rhino fell dead and skidded across the dirt, coming within an inch of Ajay's feet.

Breathing heavily, Ajay wiped the sweat from his brow. He ignored the crowd and glared up at Noore, who still had that conceited grin on her face.

"That's five rounds, Mr. Ghale." Noore said. "Only ninety-five to go."

"The next round begins now!"

. . .

Two of Noore's Faithful stood watch at the entrance to the market district. One of them yawned, bored. The other grunted frustratingly because he was not allowed to watch the fight that would tear the Usurper's Favorite to shreds.

Before one of them could fall asleep, they heard the sound of a roaring engine. They straightened up and got their guns ready. They looked down the road and saw a dirt cloud being kicked up by some speeding vehicle.

"What's that?"

They squinted their eyes to get a better look. They saw it was a Humvee. And on top of that Humvee was Pagan with a mounted GL-A87 grenade launcher.

"What the fu—AAH!"

The two guards were blown away by a lobbed grenade. A musical dixie horn went off as the armored vehicle turned and entered the area. They drove over dirt and rock as Pagan blasted away with his mounted grenade launcher. Behind him were two more Humvees with their own GL-A87s

They drove into the market place, scaring off customers, as well as business owners. Noore's men tried fighting them off, but Pagan and his soldiers cleared the way easily with their grenade launchers. Anyone left standing was quickly dispatched by the soldiers who hopped out of the Humvees.

Pagan, in his pink camouflage uniform, barked orders. Telling them to secure the area, shoot anyone with a gun, and scare away the civilians.

The King of Kyrat jumped out of the vehicle and walked beside a commander.

"Get those doors open, General."

"We're trying King Min, but those doors are heavily fortified. It will take some time."

Pagan stepped over a dead body and walked up to the ancient solid rock and steel doors of Shanath Arena. Its guards, the bared breasted women with the AKs lied dead.

"Get these whores out of my way before they stink up my sense of smell."

His men did as they were told and tossed the bodies over a cliff where most bodies, namely Shanath fighters, were thrown. Down below, demon fish devoured the corpses.

Pagan grabbed the general by the hem of his uniform and snarled in the man's face. "Get me in there right now. I don't want excuses general. Save my boy or I will make you follow those corpses over that cliff! Do you understand?!"

The General nodded his head and yelled, "Yes sir, my King! You there get those cables and hooks ready, we're bringing that door down!"

Pagan sighed. He rubbed his face in stress. He looked to his side and ordered a particular group.

"You there, Hunters!"

"Yes my king?" The one to answer and was leading the group, was Nisha.

"You're Nisha right? My boy's friend?"

"U-um, yes, King Min. I am an ally of Ajay's."

"Just say friend. Ajay can have friends, I'll not kill you if you admit it. Anyway, see that cliff there?" Pagan pointed up and Nisha and her hunters could see the entrance that Pagan was talking about. "Get up there. Sneak inside and rescue Ajay."

Nisha saluted him and followed the command. "By your wish, King Min."

Pagan gave a half-salute before leaving the Hunters to do as they were told. The King watched as his soldiers attacked hooks to the doors and started to pull them off their hinges with the Humvees.

"Hang on, Ajay, we're coming."

. . .

Ajay pulled his blade from the hide of a tiger. He was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath.

"Unbelievable! This man is unstoppable! Go get him tiger!"

Ajay glared at Appa. The man's voice irritated him to no end and he swore he used the same lines over and over, but it was a little hard to tell when you were so focused on spilling blood.

The Son of Mohan looked around. The arena always had a battlefield look to it, but now . . . it looked like something straight out of a PTSD nightmare. Bodies of people and animals littered the floor. There was a break at some point to clean up all the bodies, but that was at round 33. Now it looked like they had never even tried to clean up.

Ajay recalled all the rounds he'd gone through. Fighting packs of wolves or drugged up dholes. Blood thirsty men, with knives, guns and fire trying to kill him. Getting up close and personal with the most ferocious tigers and bears he'd ever seen. One round, Noore released, tigers, bears, wolves, AND a rhino all at the same time. The crowd booed him for an hour before he finally managed to kill all those monsters. He faced one on one against the Arena's best, including: Kumar "Scalper" Bajdoor, Haku Tenza, and even the famous "Masked Stranger." Ajay felt bad about killing that last one. He seemed to hate Noore just as much as him. But no round compared to the one where he had to fight ten honey badgers. FUCKING TEN! He had scars, both physical and mental, that would give him nightmares for months.

Thankfully, he survived. And he only had one round left.

"Well, Ajay Ghale," Noore said with a sinister smile, "Color me impressed. You've made it farther then I thought you would. You've face challenge after challenge and come out on top. You have faced the best, you have faced the mightiest, you have faced most dangerous creatures in all of Kyrat!" She took a moment of silence. "And now your final challenge."

The doors opened behind Ajay he turned and twirled his kukri, ready to face whatever came.

"Ajay Ghale . . . I give you . . . Druba 'The Juggernaut!'"

The mighty trumpet of an elephant rang through the arena causing the crowd to jump from their seats in anticipation and excitement. People began screaming. They held out bundles of rupees and shouted out bets.

"Place your bets! And let the best animal win."

Ajay sweated nervously. He was already tired from all the fighting, but now he was that and worried about taking on the enemy before him. A giant elephant stomped toward him. Its body was decorated in colorful body paint. Ropes were tied around its feet and neck, with the neck part dangling bells. Its tusks were painted and decorated in ornaments, with the tips protruding long elephant swords. But what made this animal more intimidating then Karkadaan, was that it was wearing thick steel plated armor on its head, and body.

Ajay took his grenade launcher and fired four rounds. The explosions did nothing except piss the giant off and cause it to charge. Ajay did the only sensible thing a person would do in this situation. Run like a bitch.

The elephant squished the bodies littering the ground into past as it stomped after Ajay.

Ajay kept to his usual strategy for dealing with larger, tougher opponents. Keep your distance and hide in the shadows. He lept from the ledge just before Druba caught him. Ajay fired his rifle, but the bullet's just clanked and sparked off the animal's armor.

Running again, he got to higher ground and kept firing, but the armor kept getting in the way. Druba easily caught up and nearly trampled him. Ajay kept shooting his rifle, but pretty soon he ran out of ammo. He tossed the rifle away and switched to his shotgun.

This would be trickier as he'd have to be close, but not so close he could get caught by Druba. His shotgun boomed as it fired. He saw Druba get close to a red barrel and shot it. The elephant trumpeted, annoyed by the blast and charged at the human that was angering it.

By some miracle Ajay managed to dodge out of the way, just narrowly escaping the large feet. He ran to the ledge and pulled himself up to the second floor. When he turned around he saw Durba had caught up with him and was a couple feet away. Before the elephant could grab him with its large trunk Ajay used the last of his shotgun ammo and blasted the beast's face.

Durba backed from being shot at such a close distance but recovered and went at Ajay a second time. It grabbed him and tossed him to the other side of the room. With a painful thud he hit the stone wall and fell to the ground.

His ears rang. His vision was blurry. Ajay swore he could feel blood drip from his ears, nose and, mouth. He looked up and saw Noore laughing at him from atop her terrace. Seeing the woman enjoy his pain, put new life and determination in him.

Taking out a syringe, he injected himself. The pain was numbed, and he could no longed feel his cracked bones and bruised body. He stood up and saw the elephant trying to get to the cheering crowd. It thought it killed him.

Ajay whistled. Getting the animal's attention again. Durba charged. This time Ajay didn't run. He pulled a grenade from behind him and yanked the pin out with his teeth. He still glared at the elephant, unwavering, as he spat the pin out.

He let Durba get closer and closer. He cooked the grenade in his hands a little longer. And when Durba was as close as he wanted it, he tossed the grenade. It exploded mere inches from the elephant's face.

The explosion caused Durba to veer away from Ajay and crash into the stone wall. As Duba backed away disoriented, one of it's bladed tusks fell off. Part of its metal mask was fried, revealing a scarred and burned face.

As the elephant tried to regain its senses, Ajay looked down and rushed for the elephant sword. He picked up the large blade. Holding it with two hands he slid underneath the elephant and slashed it's legs.

Druba trumpeted in pain. It spun around trying to catch or stomp Ajay.

Ajay did not let up. He played the most dangerous game of tag in his life. With the elephant sword in his hands he kept going under the elephant, just barely avoiding getting stepped on by the largest land mammal in the world.

He swung the blade. Cutting deeply into the beast's thick flesh. Each slash, weakened the animal further and caused it to cry out in pain. Finally, Ajay slashed upward, cutting into Druba's stomach. Druba thrashed, twisted, and stomped trying to get the human hurting it. Druba reared back, raising its front feet up and stomped down, causing the whole arena to rumble like an earthquake, but it missed Ajay.

And at the same time when it came down Ajay thrusted the blade up. Its belly had softened from so many cuts and he stabbed through the elephants body. Letting out a battle cry, Ajay twisted and cut forward. Adding a new wound into Druba's body. Blood sprayed onto Ajay's naked body and Druba finally toppled. Druba's guts splayed out onto the ground near Ajay's feet.

Ajay jumped onto the dying Juggernaut. He raised the elephant sword, having it point downward, and thrusted it into the beast's exposed neck. He sliced it open and blood sprayed out like a fountain, painting Ajay's body even more crimson.

Breathing heavily, watching the animal beneath his feet die slowly, Ajay let out a victorious scream.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He panted. All was quiet. Then, the crowd boomed with cheers and applause. He looked around at the crowd and then his eyes settled on Noore. Who was clapping sardonically.

When the crowd's adoration finally settled down, Noore spoke.

"Well done, Ajay Ghale."

"Save it, Noore." Ajay spat. "I won your hundred rounds. Now give me back my clothes and let me go."

"I did say that, but . . ." She smirked.

"Noore . . ." He growled warningly.

"Look around you, Ajay." She motioned her arms to everyone in the stands. "Look at all your adoring fans. They've seen what you are capable of. After that last fight, they're itching for more."

"I don't care what they want. Let me go Noore."

"What do you say people? Should I let him go? Or should we see, just how long he can go?"

"MORE!"

"MORE!"

"MORE!"

"MORE!"

Noore leveled a sinister gaze and smile at Ajay. "The people have spoken Ajay. You have to give them what they want."

Ajay was trembling. His fists were clenched tight, his teeth bared like a wolf's, his eyes held nothing but pure hate and rage. The crowd kept cheering for more. More fights. More blood. More death. And they were demanding he do it.

Hadn't he already done enough? Hasn't enough blood been spilt? Apparently not according to these . . . animals.

Ajay looked down at Druba. Its lifeless eyes reflected his image and he saw how much blood and viscera covered him. This animal had more soul then Noore, Appa, and every single one of those savages in the stands combined. And he killed it.

Ajay could no longer take it.

"YOU WANNA SEE BLOOD!?""

The crowd cheered even louder. They desired to see more carnage.

"Then here!" Ajay pulled back on the elephant sword and threw it up. The blade spun like a fan in the air and headed right for Noore.

In an instant the blade had severed the woman's arm and blood sprayed all over the terrace.

Noore screamed in agonizing pain as the crowd went silent with shock.

"There's your blood, you fucking animals!" Ajay roared, but he was not done. Drugged up on bloodlust and his own rage, Ajay picked up a couple of rifles and began firing on the crowd.

The crowd began to panic and scatter. The people started stepping on and crawling over each other to get out of the arena to escape the mad man. Several had fallen from gunshot wounds, either dead or severely injured.

Ajay ran out of ammo and looked for a new weapon. He picked up a shotgun and emptied the whole thing. He didn't care if it's range sucked, so long as he was shooting at the people that pissed him off. When he was done with the shotgun he threw it at the crowd, hitting someone in the head and making them fall and break their neck on the steps. He then found a grenade launcher and just went crazy even more. He tossed Molotovs lighting the audience on fire. He picked up handguns and machine guns, dual-wielding them and firing every single round into these outrageous people.

He finally stopped when a hole blasted open in the roof of the arena and down scaled two royal soldiers.

"Mistress Noore, we must get out of here." Appa said urgently. He picked up his leader by her only arm. She moaned in great pain from the slightest motion. The little man looked queasy seeing the blood spurt out of her shoulder like a fountain.

The doors in front of them opened. Out stepped Noore's women guards.

"Don't just stand there you fool whores, help your Mistress!"

They slowly walked toward the two before falling onto the ground, revealing arrows lodged in their backs. Two hunters came through with bows raised.

"Halt, in the name of the king you two are under arrest."

Appa gasped and was brought to a knee when Noore had finally lost consciousness. Gritting his ugly teeth, he pulled out a revolver, but two arrows found their way through his body and head. Appa died with the last image being his fallen priestess.

. . .

"Ajay, my boy!" Pagan exclaimed happily.

A clothed Ajay was walked outside the arena by Nisha and her hunters. Around them Sivudu and Ajay's Fangs were rounding up Noore's men and the arena's spectators. They were either on their knees or lying down, with their hands behind their heads. Ajay didn't even flinch when one of the soldiers shot a civilian who was trying to run.

"I'm so happy you're alright." Pagan embraced the boy.

"No offense, Pagan, but what the fuck took you so long?"

"Sorry, Ajay. When we checked the remains of the Baghadur we had no idea where you had gone. I even had men check the secret entrance that you took, but no sign of you. Then we found a back room that led into the mountains and into a series of caves. There were many places we thought she took you, we burned them to the ground before coming here."

There was a blood curdling scream coming from the arena. Two soldiers were dragging an armless Noore. Many gasped seeing the state of the former Vice-Lord.

Noore laid her eyes on Ajay and gave him the most hate-filled gaze she could muster. More hate then she ever felt toward Pagan.

"WHY?!" She screamed. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE! WHY WON'T YOU DIE?! WHY CAN'T I KILL YOU?! WHY WON'T THAT DEMON SUFFER?! WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?"

Ajay threw his fist and struck the woman's face. Everyone flinched from the resounding punch. She was out cold now. Ajay cracked his knuckled before looking at the soldiers.

"Take her to the palace. Chain her and lock her up. I have a suitable punishment for this bitch."

The soldiers looked at their king to see what he'd say.

"Well?" Pagan waved his arms impatiently. "You heard the man, take her to the palace!"

The soldiers quickly did what they were told, almost fumbling the unconscious woman in the process. They loaded her into the back of an arriving helicopter.

"So, what is this "suitable punishment" you have for our dear Doctor Noore." Pagan asked giddily.

Ajay turned around to face Pagan. The King's eyes widened at the intense look Ajay was giving him.

"A hundred rounds. I survived a hundred rounds against the savages of this land. Man and animal alike. I was put into a cage. Beaten, drugged, made to fight for these fuckers amusement!" He motioned to the people around him. "Noore treated me like an animal. It's only fair I give her the same courtesy."

Pagan recognized those eyes. Not only were they the eyes of the woman he loved, but they were also the eyes he saw everyday when he looked in the mirror. Pagan visibly shivered, but from fear or anticipation, he had no clue.

 **Banapur**

"Noore's been captured?" Amita asked.

"Yes. She was close to killing Ajay, but ultimately her hubris got in the way." Nasas explained.

"She should have brought him straight to us." Sabal said peeved. "We would have executed him for all of Kyrat to see. Instead that bitch goes over our heads and gets herself captured."

"And the entire northern section of the Pacchim Valley. There were many resources there we could have used to fund the Golden Path and secure a future for Kyrat."

"I guess that's one thing I'm happy about: your drug money going up in flames." Sabal sneered.

"And I consider Ajay plundering your precious relics to be the one thing I'm happy about."

Sabal slammed the table, cracking it. The two got into each other's faces. It looked like the two would come to blows, but Nasas managed to deter them.

"Focus, you two. We need to figure out how to respond to our new situation, now that Noore has fallen."

The two leaders stared each other down a little longer before breaking off and getting as far as possible from each other. Amita crossed her arms and Sabal leaned on the table.

"We should have killed Noore when we had the chance all those months ago." Sabal grumbled. "Now we have to deal with this shit."

"Normally I'd agree, but she was too valuable. Her Faithful kept most of the south occupied while we planned out attacks."

"Exactly!"

The three heads turned to a figure stepping out of the shadows. An American wearing a white suit, aviator glasses, and smoking a cigar.

"Willis." Nasas acknowledged.

Willis let out a puff of smoke. "That's why I gave you guys that information about Dr. Najjar's family. So you could gain a weapon, an ally, and an insider. And didn't my intel deliver?"

"Yes. For the span of a few months." Sabal said spitefully.

"And in those few months, you managed to get a leg up on Pagan and the Royal Army. You took the whole South again in one day. You came this close to beating them. It's Ajay who's been stepping in your shit, pardon my French."

"He's right." Amita agreed. "We need to do something about Ajay. Now. Before he digs up everything we've worked and sacrificed for. He's already knocked Noore out of the picture. We don't have long until he comes after us."

"Well that we can both agree." Sabal said. "So what are we going to do?"

"If I may be so bold." Willis raised his hand. A cocky smirk spread on his face. "I think I might have a solution to your problem."


	16. Far Cry 5 Review

**Far Cry 5 Review**

I've been eagerly awaiting this game for months. Before it came out I was rocking back and forth in anticipation just days before it was released I was excited about Far Cry 5. In just four days I completed the majority of the game and what do I have to say about it?

It's great!

BUT! It's got its flaws that don't make it as great as I would have hoped.

 **Gameplay** : Everything works like it does in the other games, with a few tweaks here and there. And that's fine with me, they didn't have to do anything groundbreaking with it. The takedowns are different. Instead of having them separated, you buy a perk that gives all of them to you in one go. The perk system is awesome in my opinion. Like the creators said: the game encourages you to explore, to hunt. While you can earn perk points through missions, you can also get them through exploring the nooks and crannies of Hope County. Every time I raided a bunker, I felt like Indiana Jones.

 **Weapons** : Weapons were kind of hit and miss with me. In both my second and first playthrough, I stuck with pretty much the same set of weapons. A bow, a pistol/D2 shotgun, and an LMG, the fourth one could have been any random weapon, one I needed for a mission or just for plain ass fun. The thing is, most weapons were of the same stats and I found myself wondering, why would I need that weapon, when I already have one that does the same shit? Heck I spent most of my money buying clothes and cars like a rich douche instead of weapons. Every time I bought a weapon I didn't need, it would mostly just be for fun and because I could. I really felt like they should have tried to make us EARN the special weapons. You know, find one in a lost bunker or a raid on a Peggie Outpost, or taking it from a mini-boss enemy. But nope. Heh heh, every enemy has the same FREAKING WEAPON—AR RIFLE, SHOTGUN, PISTOL, ETCETERA! That was a peeve of mine in this game.

On a side note: I hardly bought any attachments. I don't know what it was like for others, but for me scopes just got in the way and were too distracting. I didn't mind the silencers for some guns, but it felt like they were allowing us that option too much. I used a silencer mainly for my sniper rifles.

Oh, and if anyone was curious, I did miss the knives as melee weapons, but I'm not complaining. We get a whole lot of blunt instruments that are equally satisfying.

 **Animals** : The one thing that really sold Far Cry 3 for me was the animals. In 2 we were in Africa. Home of lions, hyenas, and hippos! And the only animals we got were zebras and buffalo. And those were only used as distractions! In 3 we became a predator and turned our kills into useful products to help us survive. Same with 4. They don't exactly bring that into 5 though. Which is understandable, instead of a third world country, you're in the United States. Biggest animal attacks are usually dogs or some idiot who didn't read a freaking sign or lacked common sense. Instead of turning skins into pouches, we sold skins and meat to the resistance. Again, this makes sense. People need food and clothing more than money.

However, unlike the other games animals have been seriously depowered. I'm still debating on whether I like or hate this. On one hand, its America, we've conquered our lands and therefore animals are weaker. The fact they run away when nearly defeated makes sense, they know humans are at the top of the food chain. And finally! Something goes down when its shot in the freaking head! I know animals are tough, but they ain't godly! On the other hand, they are so weak they hardly make a challenge for even the Peggies. But still, I do freak out a bit when I see a charging cougar, bison, or a fucking grizzly bear!

Another disappointment for me was the lack of attention to wolverines. Come on! Even one of the developers were afraid of these things and we got no mission revolving around them? Wolverines are like the Americanized version of honey badgers, their fucking terrifying!

Just one other peeve I'm throwing out. Bald eagles. Now, I'm an American. I love those birds like any red-blooded American would and I felt slightly uncomfortable shooting down a couple of them when the situation demanded it. I did my best to actively avoid shooting them, but a couple situations forced my hand. However, the American in me also is like "Shit, I shot a bald eagle! Awesome! I'm a badass!" So . . . yeah, kinda split in that part. I both love and hate that.

However, I do like that hunting's a little more difficult. You have to work for it. Work for your food! In previous games, you could turn the corner and find the most rare animal. In 5 you got to be smart about it. Find the right spot to hunt, find the right weapon, be sneaky and aware, I always brought Boomer with me. I just like the challenge.

Speaking of Boomer. . .

 **Guns/Fangs for Hire** : I love this part of the game. I love all of these quirky characters: mainly Boomer, Hurk, and Jess. I liked that the developers didn't skimp on dialogue. I always enjoyed a conversation between my two hires and see where they stood with each other. Cause you know they respect you, but how does Hurk feel about his mama? Or Jess feel about Grace? It's just fun.

My Fangs for Hire are my babies. Whenever they'd go down I'd run through a hail of bullets to revive them. It's the dumbest move to make, but for my little furry friends, I'd risk death and restart over and over again. That's how much of a connection I have with just THREE of these characters. And God help anyone who actually "kills" my babies. I'll go all Cersei Lannister on their asses.

Hurk has been one of my all time favorite characters in the series, second only to Jason. When I found out that Hope County was his home and that his parents were still live there I was ecstatic. Then I met his parents . . . and a whoooole lot more sense was added to Hurk's character. No wonder the dude is the way he is! His dad's a jackass and his mom's a . . . I don't want to say whore, considering everyone has a right to their promiscuous adventures, but man does this lady make me feel uncomfortable. I love Adelaide, don't get me wrong, her copter's useful and she's funny as hell, (I'll even admit she's hot) but boy does she make me feel uncomfortable at times. And I watch a LOT of mature anime.

 **MC—The Deputy** : Our silent protagonist. For those of you that are curious, I played as a girl. Always planned to because the main characters of FC (other then 2) has always been a sausage fest. Time to let the girls shine and kick some ass!

I know a lot of people are mixed on the whole silent protagonist thing. Some like it, others don't. Me? I'm the former. I like that they're a silent protagonist. Sure I wish she could respond to some of the things the antagonists say, but her being wordless really lets me work off her and implant my own ideas of what type of person she is through her actions and my own imagination. Go all out or go home I say. That was my issue with Ajay in FC4. The guy didn't say a lot for me to work off him, so whatever personality/quirks I came up with just wouldn't work. Unlike Jason who already had a personality and I knew exactly what to do to make him even more interesting. He was perfect! And so was FC5's MC in my opinion.

 **Villains/Enemies** : The enemies and antagonists were awesome in this game. They were on their own level of crazy and terrifying. A bit ore variety now too, instead of the usual soldiers and heavies. Though a key annoyance for me is that the heavies are way too overpowered and this is coming from someone playing a one-person army. Still though, the Judges, the Chosen, and the Angels were all a nice addition to the enemy roster.

Boss fights were a whole lot better this time too. We fought John in a plane/dogfight. Faith in some godly hallucination world. And played King of the Hill with Jacob. All around not bad. I liked the QuickTime events in FC3, even though not a whole lot liked that. But I felt this was an improvement compared to 3 and 4 as they were challenging and unique in their own way. Honestly, I don't know what people expect of bosses in a modern-time game like Far Cry? All of your enemies are human that can still die from a bullet or knife to the head. The best you could ever hope for is something like Faith's battle.

The Seed Family. What a bunch of cunts. And I say this in a complimentary way. I hated Vaas, and that made him a great villain in my eyes. Same can be said for Joseph and his "family." I wish there was more I could've done to them instead of watching them die. But that's the price to pay for preferring a silent protagonist. I knew what I signed up for.

John Seed, I felt was like my unintentional rival. I always did anything and everything to piss him off! What he does to people is sick and twisted and his self-"righteousness" is sickening on a whole new level for this game. In the end though I taught John the power of "NO." And the power of a bullet.

Faith was probably the most unique among the siblings. I found it interesting that she wasn't actually related to the brothers and was, in fact, just an avatar for Joseph's "Faith." She's really a resident of Hope County, that went by Rachel. But like John, I got annoyed with her because she too thought she was so self-righteous. That she believed turning people into husks of their former selves was the most God-given blessed thing in the entire world. What a fucking bullshit-eating whore. Apparently, she was a nice, but weak-willed girl before Joseph found her and made her take and use drugs. Maybe I have a little sympathy for her, but it's completely buried under a mountain hate and loathing. Every time she took me into the Bliss, I blew up something of hers. Joseph's statue (hope Joseph beat the crap out of her for that), her drugs and Angels, taking her hostages before they're blissed. It gives me a warm tingly feeling as she gradually gets madder and madder at me.

Jacob, surprisingly, I didn't hate all that much, unlike the other two. Maybe it's because he has this air of maturity or some such bullshit, but I don't know. Even him going all MKUltra on me didn't get me as angry as I thought it would. Still a pleasure to put a bullet in his skull. At the end of the day I think he's a coward and its almost poetic how someone he conceived as weak still ended up killing him. WHO'S WEAK NOW MOTHERFUCKER!

Now . . . Joseph Seed . . . The Father. What an incredible villain! It was a smart move getting a real live actor to represent the villain. It worked with Michael mando and it works here with Greg Bryk. I'd say he's on Vaas level of villain, but for different reasons. Joseph is scary, probably scarier then even Vaas. That sounds blasphemous as I'm typing this out, but it's what I feel. Vaas ruled through fear and insanity. He was unpredictable, but the worst he could do to you was attack you physically, if not a bit psychologically. Joseph . . . he gets in your head. Makes you believe every word that comes out of his mouth. Every word he utters is like honeyed poison. It sounds sweet, but underneath is a hint of evil. Unlike Vaas or Pagan, I felt Joseph everywhere and he was only in a few scenes. You remember how Pagan set himself up as a God-King? Well, The Father does that here a whole lot better. His presence is felt everywhere. Like a force, a corruption that's tainted the land. That's why its so satisfying blowing up Eden's Gate shit and taking out his family members. It's like I'm cleansing the land of Joseph's evil. In fact, ironically enough, Joseph sees himself as a Messiah from God. But in my eyes . . . he's more like the devil's agent.

If I were to dive more into the supernatural aspect of the game, I'd say the "voice" that Joseph hears, is in fact the Devil. Funny, that there's absolutely no mention (as far as I looked) of the devil in this game, considering the theme. But who knows, Ubisoft didn't want to dive to much into religion and maybe talks of the devil were too controversial. I can forgive that considering the controversies they've been dealing with for this game. So if I have to blame anyone, I blame the assholes who raised a ruckus about FC5 from the beginning.

 **Endings** : Now for the biggest subject I'm sure your all curious to know. What do I think of the endings? Well to be honest . . . I hate them. You have two options . . . three if you count the secret ending, but that ones so useless there's no point in talking about it. No, the Resist and Walk Away endings are more interesting.

I'll get the simple one out of the way first. The Walk Away ending I consider the "Bad End." Because in the end, Joseph still walks free and he takes all of your allies. If my character were able to speak I wouldn't leave without ALL of my people. And if that weren't bad enough, we likely kill the sheriff and the deputies because of Jacob's conditioning. So . . . yeah . . . fuck you.

No matter what, I'll always take the Resist Ending. It leads to one of the most horrible endings in videogame history (my opinion) but hey, it pisses Joseph off so much and to see him crawling on the floor in despair is satisfying in of itself. But then a fucking nuke goes off and pretty much ruins the mood. I will admit, that's probably one of the most amazing images of a mushroom cloud I've ever seen. It definatley had my jaw drop and my eyes bulge when I first saw it. My blood pumped as I raced to Dutch's bunker. And then my jaw dropped more when my friends die on the way there and I get trapped in an underground room with a person I hate with every fiber of my being.

Fucking beautiful.

Now, let me say, I don't mind the nuking end. It's so amazingly unexpected that I can't hate it that much. However I dislike slightly because of how much a world changer a nuke is. Then to add to that slight dislike, we don't get to decide the fate of Joseph. I hate that, so basically this guy does almost everything horrible under the sun and we don't get to choose his fate? You know, I've always let Pagan live, but I don't blame anyone for killing him because he really was an awful human being. But Joseph deserved so much more then Pagan ever did.

But here's the big reason why I hate the ending. It's a lose, lose situation. That's right, what they did in FC4, they do it right here too and even more blatantly then the last! Everything you do in the game is completely pointless. Every rescue, every friend, every bullet you waste, every drop of blood you spill is completely, utterly, and entirely POINTLESS! All of it, burned up in nuclear fire. I didn't like this in FC4, but at least its message was clear: "Sometimes in war there is no winner. Sometimes there is no right side." Maybe for a book, hell maybe for a movie, but THAT'S NOT A GOOD VIDEOGAME ENDING! I want all my work to mean something! I don't ever want to question, "well why should I do this if nothing changes?" FC3's endings were perfect! Kill your friends: have sex and get killed by crazy lady. Save your friends: leave island and live forever as the monster you've become. That works! It all led up to something that was meaningful. Here, its like building up a house of cards and then some douche comes along, knocks it over and says "oops, wanna try again?" I can live with a nuclear bomb going off, so log as Joseph dies. I can live with Joseph living, so long as the nuclear bomb doesn't go off. But to have both at the same time . . . I'm on my third playthrough right now, I didn't finish the second because I got to the last mission and already completed all side mission. Even those annoying collectable missions. I didn't want to finish the game. Enough said.

Now there are some theories out there that kind of dissuade the endings and I want to bring them here to spread out to all of you. I'm sure some of you have heard these already, but I'm going to repeat them anyway. One is that all of it is a bliss hallucination. The nuclear bomb and getting locked up with Seed, all an illusion. I can see that considering you can still play the game, everyone is alive and Joseph's picture is crossed out. Heck the game even states all of Hope County is liberated. But because there's no official statement, and likely there never will be, not everyone can just accept this.

The next theory I have is that Joseph fulfills his own prophecies. Now, let's say there is nothing supernatural going on with Joseph and its all in his psychotic little man-bunned head. In the beginning, Joseph predicted that the authorities would come and try to take him away. Yeah, no shit. You were caught on camera doing horrible things, of course the police would respond to that. Even without this, the peggies are doing so many horrible things, that sooner or later the authorities would come knocking. It's basically a self-predicting prophecy. No—it's common fucking sense. And any of you remember the radio broadcast about what's going on outside the world? How are we getting those broadcasts? Aren't all the radios connected to the outside cut off? Because if we got a connection we can call for help! It works both ways! The only conclusion I can come up with is, once again, Joseph Seed is doing it. He's got a radio broadcast going on about bad things happening to the world to keep his followers in line, as well as unnerving the residents of Hope County. Then there's the nuclear bomb. Some say its from a warring country, others say it's the volcano from Yellow Stone going off. But in my opinion, Joseph set it off. You remember saving Deputy Hudson? We had to climb through a missile silo to escape the bunker? Where was the missile to that missile silo? I think Joseph's so called "Collapse" was just taking place in Hope County. When everything was reaped and stored in the bunkers, he would activate the bomb and begin their "rebirth." And at the end of it all, everything was fine, and all that despair and death was for nothing. Joseph is a conman who believes in his own cons because his head tells him to.

OR maybe the Resist ending really is a hallucination. You remember Faith's cutscenes? When she forcefully takes us into the Bliss? The scene with the Father when he shows us a vision of the world ending via nuclear bombs? That right there is proof that he could make us see the end of the world happen.

Either way, the fact we don't get to kill this fucker still grates me.

 **Overall, in my total opinion, this is what Far Cry 4 should have been like. Not that this concept didn't fit with the setting, but FC4 was about a revolution. Throughout most of the game I kept saying to myself, "this is what FC4 should have done." Still hoping for a sequel to that story.**

 **Anyway, I still like this game. As I said I'm still playing it, but what's the point in finishing it?**

 **Well, that's all I have to say I think. If there was something I missed, or you wanted to know more about my opinion on something PM me or ask me in a review.**

 **PEACE!V**


	17. Tarun Don't Wanna

**Chapter 16**

Tarun Don't Wanna

 _Though she be but little she is fierce— William Shakespeare_

 **That is probably one of the stupidest titles I've ever made for a chapter.**

"What do you think's going through her head?"

"Dunno."

"You think she understands us?"

"Hard to say. She's barely coherent these days."

"I heard she bit someone."

"Heh, yeah she's more animal now. She bit a finger off someone the other day."

"No shit?"

"Yeah, saw the guy, he got medical leave."

In the backyard of the Royal Palace, two guards stood sentinel over a single cage in the open area. The cage was the usual kind they used to hold animals. In this case it wasn't too far off because the only occupant in the cage was none other than the former vice-lord and Priestess of Pain, Noore Najar.

Noore looked differently now. Her fine silken garb was in tatters and all her valuable jewelry, including her headdress was gone. Even her nose ring was violently removed and left a visible scar where it once was. Her hair was a greasy, ratty mess, her nails had broken from constant scratching against the cage, and her eyes had sunken, almost devoid of life. Her severed arm was still missing, now only having an ugly stump.

The former governor just sat there in her cage not doing anything other than staring into space. So, the two men guarding her figured they have some fun with her.

"She's a bit grungy, but damn, she's still got the body of a woman."

"I know right? I won't ever get a chance like this to fuck a woman like this again. And a vice-lord!"

"You sure this is a good idea?" The guard asked his buddy who was opening the woman's cage.

"She's a hated enemy of the King and Ghale. What do they care what happens to her so long as she's suffering?"

"But you just said she attacked someone."

"Yeah, don't worry, slipped something into her food so she won't be too riled up."

"I don't know . . ."

"Relax look." He slapped the woman a couple of times, only getting a slight groan in return. "See told ya. She won't give us any trouble."

"Well . . ."

"Just hold her arm down while I have at her, coward."

Despite his misgiving the guard did as he was told. He held down the arm as his friend began ripping at Noore's already ruined dress and tried spreading her legs.

"Mmm-nngh . . . nghaah." She mumbled and squirmed.

"Guess she's not drugged enough to be fully out of it." The guard noted. "Doesn't matter. Nobody's coming for you, "Vice-Lord." Just lie there and take it."

Noore still tried to struggle, but with one arm and drugged, it was impossible.

He began to remove his pants and pull down his briefs. His hard member stuck out and he started to insert it into a vulnerable Noore. But before he could, there was a loud boom and a hole burst through the guard's head.

"Shit!" The guard jumped in fright as he saw his friend fall to the side away from Noore.

Then he looked up and saw Ajay Ghale holding a smoking Sixer. Behind him were three guards and a growling Lakshmana.

"Raping an imprisoned woman in the middle of the day." Ajay shook his head. "That's stupid even for you guards." He pointed Sixer at the second guard.

"Wait, wait! Mr. Ghale, plea—"

*Bang!*

"Deal with the bodies and put Noore back in her cage. She is a prisoner. The only things you guards are to do with her is give her food and clean up her shit. Anything more than that and you'll be joining these two. Clear?"

"Yes, sir, Mr. Ghale." The soldiers obediently did what they were told. Outside, the picture perfectness of a soldier. On the inside, they were downright terrified of the King's VIP. Though nowadays they considered him as the King's Son.

 **With Pagan**

"What are you thinking about?"

Pagan was staring out the window, watching Ajay ordering the guards. The young man had been in the country for a little over two months now. The dictator still remembered that boy he picked up at the checkpoint. The one that jumped at every guard's nasty stare, coward at every gunshot, and disturbed by every movement Pagan made.

Since leaving his mother's ashes with Lakshmana, the boy was gradually changing, just as he expected. Just as Ishwari expected. He kind of wished it wouldn't happen, but for better or for worse, he and his love always knew the young man would be affected by Kyrat.

"I'm thinking Ajay is doing quite well. He's stronger then he was a couple months ago."

"You've changed too." Yuma pointed out.

"Have I? I don't think I have."

"You have." She insisted. "It's been years since you stepped out of this palace and did some real work."

"Maybe there was just nothing that got me motivated."

"Or maybe you were just that weak."

A throwing knife came within an inch of her nose.

"Sorry! Hand slipped." Pagan said like it was really an accident. "This conversation's not about me. It's about Ajay."

Yuma grabbed the knife and walked to Pagan's side. She stared out the window with him and handed the knife to him. He politely thanked her.

"He's certainly changed."

"Yes, I know. I knew he would. So did his mother. That's why she left her home country. This damned place was always going to stain his soul."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Yuma asked.

Pagan shrugged. "Not exactly. It's just sad that it has to be in this shit-hole that Ajay excels the most. This place makes him powerful."

"And you want to make him more powerful."

He gave her a sideways glance before turning back to Ajay. "This place was always his."

"You can't just give some a crown."

"Why the hell not? I'm King, I can do whatever I want. Always have."

"But—"

"Besides. He'll make a better ruler then I." There was a beat between them "Or maybe he won't. Who really knows the future."

"Hmm."

"What about you?" Pagan asked.

"What about me?"

"You and I are looking at the same young man, but there's a different look in your eye compared to mine."

Yuma started walking away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Pagan chuckled. "Of course, you don't. If you plan on fucking the boy, do be gentle with him. He is the future king of this country." He yelled out as a side thought.

Yuma gave him the finger on her way out.

Pagan chuckled again. His eyes settled on Ajay again who was sitting on the patio stroking Lakshmana.

"Yes. This place has always been yours Ajay. We just need to perform a few more steps and then I can give you your birthright."

 **Couple Days Later**

"Captain Sen."

Ajay walked through the entrance of a Royal Outpost and approached the Captain in charge. Captain Sen looked up from his map and saw Ajay drop a golden bandana onto the table. The Captain picked it up and saw a blood smear on it.

"So, he's dead?" Sen asked.

"That's right."

"Excellent. That rebel Kasu was scum of the worst kind."

Captain Sen had hired Ajay to preform an assassination on a rebel that was responsible for planting mines around random areas in Royal territory. Many soldiers and even civilians had fallen prey to the man's sadistic traps, including a ten year old child, who is now an arm and a leg short.

Sen dropped a large stack of rupees on the table. "Your pay." Then he dropped a second stack. "And this is for hiding the body. We can raid that rebel's stash now and the Golden Path won't know what hit them."

Ajay took the stacks of money and slid his thumb over the edges. He nodded approvingly.

"Thanks for your help, Mr. Ghale. Please, help yourself to whatever's in the safe house."

Ajay nodded and decided to rest in the safe house. After raiding the fridge for a cool bottle of raksi he sat down at the table and reminisced about the other assassination jobs he took.

The first one was by accident. He just found a soldier freaking out about having no one to help him kill a rebel that was kidnapping kids for child soldiers. Ajay volunteered and killed the rebel easily enough. After that, the Royal Army decided to hire him again.

His second job was to kill a rebel who had poisoned a food supply and killed seven people. Ajay emptied his camp of rebels and shot him with an arrow.

The third job was a defected Royal Soldier who had valuable intel. He was being transported via truck. After sabotaging the vehicles brakes while it was being repaired, he watched the occupant riders careen off a cliff and die in a fiery explosion.

His fourth job involved a female hunter. This one was very ruthless and was known for feeding living prisoners to her pet dholes. The best part about that job was that the employer wanted her to be dealt with by a grenade. So, as he looked on from afar, seeing all the vicious animals and the huntress wandering around, he enjoyed blasting them all away. As soon as the huntress died, the remaining animals scattered.

After each kill he had to bring back proof: a bandana with the target's blood on it. As a bonus he was paid extra if he hid the body in inconspicuous places, so the Army could take advantage of the confusion of the missing rebel.

Suddenly, Ajay was taken out of his thoughts when his phone went off. He looked at it and it was a number he did not recognize. He answered regardless.

"Hello? Is… is this Ajay?" A meek voice asked.

"Who's asking? How did you get this number?" Ajay asked suspiciously.

"Y-you probably don't remember me . . . we only met once. My name is Bhadra."

Ajay recalled a single memory of a young girl in the middle of enemy territory.

"The Tarun Matara."

"Yes."

"What is this? Some kind of trick set up by Amita and Sabal?"

"No! No, it isn't! I swear! Sabal and Amita don't even know I'm contacting you."

"Why do I find this hard to believe."

"It's the truth. I . . . I need your help. Y-you're the only one I can turn to."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't explain on the phone. Can you meet me at these coordinates?"

Ajay looked at his phone and got the directions.

"Alright, kid. I'm trusting you."

"Thank you!"

Ajay finished his Raksi and took an ATV from the outpost. He drove off quite a ways, heading to the southern region. It was far off from the King's Bridge and leveled on the border between Royal Army territory and Golden Path territory.

His ATV halted, and he walked into an abandoned village that obviously hadn't been used in years.

Ajay's eyes narrowed. Something felt off. The area was a great place to set an ambush. He stepped into the center of the village and there was nothing except the blowing of the wind.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He pulled out Sixer and aimed it. His sights laid on a young girl of fifteen or sixteen.

"Wait! Don't shoot! It's me!" Bhadra pleaded.

Ajay narrowed his eyes. He retracted Sixer and pushed the hammer of his gun forward.

He eyed Bhadra as she stepped forward. She still wore her common turquoise jacket and jeans, but this time she had her hood up. On her back was a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"So, you did come alone."

"I said I would."

"If this isn't a trap then what is this all about?"

She looked nervous. Her fingers fumbled with the strap of her quiver.

"I . . . I need your help."

"You said that on the phone. But what help do you want? Why not ask Amita or Sabal for help."

"Because…" Whatever she was trying to say seemed emotionally tough her. "Because you're the only one that can protect me from them!" She forced herself to blurt out.

Ajay was confused. "Amita and Sabal?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Why do you need protection from them? Aren't they the ones always trying to protect you?"

"Yes, but—you see—the other day. I went to Amita's house. She wasn't there, but I went in anyway." She pulled out an old leather-bound notebook from her pack. "I found this."

Ajay shifted through the pages of the book and figured out it was a diary. All of Amita's thoughts were written in it. Bhadra guided him to a particular page and what he read shocked him.

"Amita's endgame plans."

"If the Golden Path topples Pagan Min and his Army, she intends to overthrow Sabal and run all of his drug operations."

"While this is informative, what does this have to do with you?"

"Keep reading and you'll come across the part about me."

Ajay did and what he found shocked him.

"She's going to kill me." She said sadly. "Or worse she'll sell me like a prostitute to the highest bidder. She wrote that many would pay large sums to sleep with a goddess."

"I thought she was your sister?!"

"She is, but I'm also the Tarun Matara. I'm a threat to her and her vision of Kyrat. The Tarun Matara represents all of the traditional values of the kyrati people and that could endanger her ability to control the country." Bhadra looked down at the ground, tears were forming in her eyes. "She's either going to kill me because my position undermines hers or . . ."

"Or she'll sell you because why waste such a profitable item." Ajay said in disgust.

"Yes."

"Why not go to Sabal with this? He'd definitely protect you."

"I was about to . . . but then that would mean I would become the Tarun Matara if Sabal won."

"And that's so bad?" To him it was. But to her . . .?

She mumbled something under breath. Even with his enhanced hearing he couldn't hear her. She mumbled a bit louder, but he still couldn't hear her. He told her to speak up more.

"I don't want to be the Tarun Matara."

Ajay's eyes widened in surprise. "You can choose?"

"No . . . you can't."

"Wait, so why—"

"I wasn't sure . . . if being Tarun Matara is what I wanted. For a long time, I just let others choose for me because I was unsure. Amita and Sabal have protected me for a long time. But after I discovered this conspiracy from my sister I realized that if I went to Sabal, that would be it. Tarun Matara is what I would become."

. . .

. . .

"And I don't want that."

For a long time there was just silence between them. Ajay had met all sorts of unique and interesting people in Kyrat. Pagan, Yuma, Hurk, Longinus, Nisha, but Bhadra was the first to really floor him. In front of him was a girl who was stronger then anyone would ever give her credit for, even himself.

Before him was a young girl taking control of her life for the first time ever. She was scared to, of course. It's hard to turn your back on everything you know in your life. But she knew what she wanted regardless. To say no to her now would be the biggest sin he'd ever commit in Kyrat.

"You do realize that you're asking for shelter and amnesty from someone who serves Pagan Min right? The man, the tyrant, ruling your country?"

"I-I know. But what other choice do I have?"

"I'm going to kill Sabal and Amita. I won't show mercy to them."

"It's war. I understand. I'm used to friends and family dying around me anyway."

. . .

"A-and if it helps. I know other stuff to. I can tell you about Nasas' armories, Golden Path training camps. I can even tell you where you can find De Pluer."

"Paul?" She nodded. All that extra information would be valuable, but even if she didn't offer all that he still wouldn't say no. Now that he saw how adamant she was, he only had one answer.

"Alright. I'll take you to the Royal Palace. You'll be the safest there." Her face beamed in relief and joy.

Suddenly they heard engines roars and shrubbery being crushed.

"Was I followed?!"

"Most likely." Ajay said getting ready for a fight.

"I'm sorry! Really, this wasn't a trap, I swear!"

"Quiet and get on my bike."

The two ran. As soon as they hopped onto the bike there were rebels on quad-bikes who jumped out of the foliage. Ajay sped off onto the road.

"Once we get to the King's Bridge we should be out of the clear. Just hold on and everything will be alright."

Three rebels were on their tail. They didn't discharge any weapons because they didn't want to hurt Bhadra. They followed the two for a while before Ajay allowed them to catch up.

"You know how to drive?" Ajay asked.

"Yes?"

"Good. Take the wheel."

"Wha—AH!" She quickly grabbed the throttle before the bike tumbled.

Ajay jumped off the bike and jumped onto one of the rebel's bikes. He kicked him off and started driving. He pressed on the brakes hard allowing him to get behind the rebels and then picked up speed. Ajay took out Sixer and fired. The second rebel was downed.

The third rebel tried reaching for Bhadra. The girl tried leaning away from the man's hands. This allowed Ajay to line up another shot and shoot the rebel in the back.

Ajay sped up and then jumped back onto his original bike.

"That was incredible!"

"You ain't seen nothing yet."

Suddenly a truck came from up a hill.

"Damn it, these guys don't know when to quit."

"I got this!" Bhadra said. She took off her bow and readied an arrow. She pulled back on the bowstring and released the arrow. The arrow flew and hit the driver in the chest.

"Holy . . . nice shot." Bhadra smiled at him. "Guess I don't need to worry too much about watching your back."

More rebels on ATVs came after them. Bhadra pulled back on another arrow and hit a guy in the face. She pulled back another arrow, but this time the drivers dodged her.

Frustrated, Bhadra whistled and there was a loud screech coming from the sky. A black eagle swooped down and knocked a rebel off his bike with its talons.

"You can control animals?" Ajay asked bewildered.

"Only a little. Daxa! *Whistles*"

Daxa dived at the other rebel, but he dodged the predator. Then Daxa started flying around, causing the rebel to try and swat the animal. Bhadra bent back and fired an arrow into the ATV's wheel. It blew and the rebel ended up getting crushed by his toppling vehicle.

"That was my last arrow!"

"What?! Already!?"

"It's a small quiver! And I didn't have time to collect a lot of arrows when I ran."

Grumbling, Ajay unholstered Sixer and gave it to her. "You know how to use this?"

She took it. "Kinda."

"If you need ammo, just reach into my pocket."

More trucks arrived. This time they were shooting at them.

"I guess their done messing around." Ajay said.

"No way would Sabal's men just give up like that. They have to be Amita's people."

"Fucking hell. I thought my family was fucked up."

Bhadra turned around and started firing back. Sixer wasn't a powerful weapon, but what it lacked in kick, made up for with accuracy. The first couple of shots she took were a bit off, but the third shot ended up in the shoulder of a driver.

Fourth shot missed again, but the fifth found its home in a rebel's skull.

The sixth shot missed. As she reloaded, which was difficult for her since the shifting of the bike wasn't helping, a rebel stuck out the side of the truck and open fired. Bullets whizzed past Bhadra's head. Despite the cold wind hitting her face, she was sweating. Any moment a bullet could pierce the back of her head.

That would be it. Done. No more. She looked at Ajay and saw his face was absolutely stoic. No emotion what so ever. Not anger, fear, or even glee. It's like bullets weren't zooming over him. Seeing how brave he was being instilled courage in her. She focused and then whistled.

Daxa flew and then dived at the truck. She bared her talons and then grabbed the rifle out of the rebel's hands. She dropped it after carrying it off a ways.

Bhadra snapped the cylinder back into place and fired Sixer again. Her shot was true, and the dead driver ended up steering the truck into a stone wall. She fired more, and the last truck slowly stopped when both its passengers were dead.

"Yeah!" A helicopter flew over their heads. "Oh come on!"

"How are we going to shake that?!" Bhadra asked.

Ajay answered by swerving into the forest. The trees would give them cover. They were likely out of sight, but the copter started firing wildly into the forest. It was luck that neither of them got hit by stray bullets.

Ajay weaved through the trees and plowed through bushes and plants. He only had a fraction of a second to process what was in front of him and then react.

They ran out of forest and were coming up on a horizon.

"Look out!" Bhadra shouted.

Ajay pressed the brakes and the ATV came sliding to a halt. Just an inch from a cliff's edge.

The helicopter that was chasing them stopped above their heads and four rebels jumped out, sliding down ropes. They raised their assault rifles and aimed at Ajay.

"Release Bhadra, Ghale!"

"There's nowhere left to run."

Ajay leveled a glare at them and then whispered behind Bhadra. "They think you're my hostage."

"What are we going to do?" Bhadra asked nervously.

He looked between the four rebels and the helicopter.

"Good question."

"Release her! Now!"

Suddenly, Bhadra got off the bike and raised her arms defensively. "Stop! I'm not Ajay's hostage. I came to him willingly!"

The rebels looked confused now. They gave each other looks, trying to see if any of them could respond to that sentence.

"Bhadra. It's okay. We know you're confused and scared. Just come here and we'll finish Ghale."

"Sabal and Amita want to protect you, Bhadra. We all do"

"Come home."

The young girl looked behind to stare at Ajay. She gave him a sad look before taking steps toward the rebels. Through her whole pace, Ajay said nothing and showed no reaction.

When Bhadra was over by the rebels, the four got in front of her. Their weapons didn't falter.

"Target secured. Now for you Ghale. Any final words, before dying, traitor?" The rebel asked smugly.

Ajay smirked. "You're all idiots."

The four scowled. The squad leader was about to give the order to fire, but an early gunshot when off. A gunshot that wasn't theirs.

One rebel fell dead. The second fell with a bullet in his brain. The two remaining turned around and saw Bhadra with a smoking Sixer in her hand. She leveled the revolver on the third and fired. It pierced his neck and he choked to death. Unsure and reacting on instinct, the squad leader raised his rifle. Bhadra wouldn't have made it in time to aim the gun, but she did have time to whistle. Daxa flew down and pierced the man's clothes and flesh. He screamed out in pain as the bird pecked out his eyes.

Ajay laughed as he threw a cooked grenade up at the helicopter. It exploded right in front of its windshield and it dropped like the fiery debris it became.

It would have fallen on Bhadra if Ajay hadn't sped up his ATV and grabbed her just as it crashed to the ground.

"Nice work kid! That was badass!"

The two had no more trouble with the Golden Path after that. They finally arrived at the King's Bridge. Once they got through all the check points they had a moment to relax.

"Ajay Ghale." The General of the King's Bridge welcomed him happily. "Its good to see you. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks, General."

The General's eyes looked down at Bhadra. He must have recognized her because his eyes widened. "Could you tell the chefs to prepare us some food? It's been a long day."

The General looked at him then back at Bhadra. It was obvious the Royal General wanted to ask about the Tarun Matara, but he refrained.

Twenty minutes passed and Bhadra was scarfing down a stew made by the outpost's chef.

"You okay?" Ajay asked.

Bhadra swallowed and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I'm fine."

. . .

. . .

"No, you're not."

. . .

"We don't have to talk about it right now. Right now, I'm just going to try and keep you safe. Whenever you want to talk, just ask."

She gave him a little smile underneath her hood. "Thanks, Ajay."

She pulled out Sixer from behind her back and handed it to him. But instead of taking it, he pushed it back to her.

"Keep it. You're going to need better protection then just a bow and arrows. Sixer's a good pistol for someone like you."

Bhadra held the revolver with both and hands and then brought it too her chest. "Thanks."

"Listen, you can give us al the intel you want back at the palace, but there's one bit of information I'm going to need right now. Because the sooner I know the sooner I can get ready and get it over with."

"What's that?"

"Where's Paul?"

"Paul is at Vyatha."

Ajay raised an eyebrow.

"The City of Pain."

 **I'm surprised I didn't get a lot of reviews last chapter. Considering what I did, I expected a few heated ones at least. I know a lot of people don't exactly like the direction I'm taking with Noore, but I did it anyway, knowing it's not what you guys want. And that's why I'm taking the path I've made.**

 **I feel for Noore. We all feel for her. We all want to save her. Thing is, I wanted to do something unexpected. I felt like this was the perfect reverse, compared to canon. In the game, Paul was our enemy and Noore was more our ally. Siding with Pagan though reverses that. Now Paul is our ally and Noore is the enemy. Honestly, I thought that was very interesting.**

 **So, really, don't hold back your guy's feelings on that matter. Don't be afraid to tell me how you really feel. But just don't make it too meanspirited. Criticize me, don't insult me.**


End file.
